The Boundary Effect - The Path of a Magician
by xyzdreadnought
Summary: Isika Valao is a young Asari child, with nothing to her name and a lot to prove. Enamoured by magic and the Alliance, she sets out to become what should Be impossible for the naturally biotic Asari, a magician. With the help of a certain ordinary Magician, she just might make that dream a reality. (A spin off Story to the Boundary Effect, written with Permission)
1. Chapter 1 - Enter, Isika

"Hey Kid, hold up a minute."

Isika Valao froze in her tracks and tried not to look too nervous as an Alliance personal walked over to her.

"Sorry for the holdup, I just didn't expect to see a child unsupervised," said the man, crouching down to her level. "You going alone?"

"Y-yes sir," Isika said nodding furiously.

"Easy there kid, this isn't an interrogation," the man said appeasingly. "But I gotta ask, do your folks know you are going?"

"I…" Isika had trouble meeting the man's eye. "I live alone."

"That so?" The man had a look somewhere between concern and suspicion. "Can I see your ticket for a minute?"

Isika nervously handed her ticket over, wondering if she was going to be denied.

The man looked over the ticket. "Hmm… Seems to be in order. Have you got money? They don't accept credits there you know."

Isika nodded again, feeling the weight in her pocket reassuringly. It wasn't a lot in there, but she felt it might be enough if she was careful how she spent it.

"And have you got your accommodation sorted?" He said.

"Yes, I have," Isika said. She had managed to get a relatively cheap place that offered breakfast with the lodgings. It had still been rather pricey for her, but she hoped the breakfast would mean she had to spend less on food.

The man sighed. "I guess you got it all sorted then." he said, handing her back the ticket, much to her relief. "Just watch yourself. Reitaisai itself is pretty safe, but a lot can happen to a child on her own, and some of the characters that boarded looked pretty shifty."

Isika nodded gingerly, feeling nervous again.

The man caught this, and reassured her. "Hey, forget I said anything. Just stick to the festival grounds and don't follow suspicious strangers, and if you get in trouble, just find an official like me. We are here to help." He pointed to his ID badge. "Sorry for holding you up, go right on in."

"Thank you sir." Isika said nodding respectably, before continuing to the shuttle.

"Have fun at Reitaisai, you hear!" he called after her.

One of his colleagues walked up beside him. "Cute kid. Wonder why she's alone though?"

"It's not our job to ask." He said, shrugging. "Politest Asari today though."

* * *

Isika exited the spaceport, her eyes filled with wonder.

She had been lucky enough to get a window seat and had the privilege of seeing the festival from above. It was a sea of colours and lights, stretching for miles, and from the ground it was no less impressive.

She walked around, just looking at the various stalls and booths, selling food, trinkets, and other oddities like books. There was just so much to see.

"It really gets you on your first time doesn't it?"

Isika looked up in surprise at being addressed.

A tall Alliance woman was beside her. She wore odd blue clothes and had bright pink hair topped with a strange blue hat. She had a relaxed, almost dreamy expression.

She was also floating.

Isika blinked. There was no signs of biotics, or any kind of disturbance in the air. She was just, floating, a barely perceptible bob up and down the only thing making it apparent she wasn't just frozen in the air.

"What's the matter? Cat got your tongue?" the woman said.

"You're floating!" Isika said.

"Indeed I am little one," the woman said.

"How are you doing that?" Isika said incredulously.

The woman smiled indulgently. "Why, it's because I'm a ghost of course."

"A… Ghost?" Isika said, tilting her head, unfamiliar with the word.

"A spirit of the deceased. A dead person in layman's terms," she said.

"You're… dead?!" Isika said in shock.

"For over twelve hundred years in fact." She giggled at Isikas expression.

"But... then… How are you here?" Isika said.

"As if I'd let a little thing like being dead make me miss out on such wonderful festivities, they really are pulling all the stops out this year." the 'ghost' said, "What about you, you looking for anything in particular?"

"Not... really," admitted Isika, "But how can you be dead when you are right here?"

"You seem really fixated on that don't you?" the ghost woman said. "Well I don't think I can really explain the mechanics of the afterlife to you, but in the most simplest terms… Magic."

"Magic… That's the thing the Alliance uses instead of Eezo right?" Isika said.

"I suppose." the ghost says, thinking before she brightened a bit. "Want to see some?"

"Can I?" said Isika, curious "Is it dangerous?" She had seen the vids of what Ambassador Flandre could do after all.

"Not really." said the ghost, "Here, watch."

She held out her hand, and placed her other hand above it. There was several motes of light that seemed to condense into a strange glowing shape. Isika watched transfixed, as it slowly shifted into a strange glowing creature, with intricate wings, that gently flutter in the breeze.

"Woow," Isika said, watching as the little light creature took to the air, fluttering around her. "What is it?"

"Its a butterfly, made with magic," The ghost said as it touched down on Isikas hand. "I am quite fond of them."

"It's so pretty," Isika said, lifting her hand to look at the butterfly. Her skin prickled slightly where it touched her, but she barely noticed.

In then took to the air again and started fluttering in circles a few meters away.

"It seems it wants to take you somewhere." The ghost mused aloud. "Why don't you go see where it leads?"

Isika looked up at the ghost quizzically. Not sure how to feel about such an invitation from a stranger.

"Go on, I mean you no harm. It will take you somewhere interesting, and maybe you might learn a thing or two about ghosts if you follow it. It's not as if you have anything else planned right?" The ghost said.

Isikas curiosity won over her caution. "Alright then. Thanks Miss Spirit."

Isika walked off, following the spectral butterfly into the crowd.

The ghost watched her go.

"Didn't keep you waiting did I?" Yukari said, stepping out from behind her.

"A bit," said Yuyuko, "But I met someone interesting, so no foul."

"Looks like it." Yukari said, "Might have to keep an eye on that one. Shall we go?"

The two old friends went off in the opposite direction to the young Asari, chatting amicably, the crowd subconsciously parting in their presence.

* * *

Isika followed her impromptu guide through the festivities, occasionally stopping in front of interesting locations.

For some reason this seemed to include rather a lot of food vendors. Not that Isika minded, as Alliance food seemed to be very interesting, with very flamboyant cooks. Even though she wasn't too hungry, and couldn't afford to impulse buy, she appreciated the spectacle some of the cooks put on.

There were a lot of interesting games too. Things like 'ring toss', 'goldfish scooping', 'toy gun firing ranges', and 'skee-ball' being among the simpler ones, which tended to offer prizes. There were other more complicated ones that made her head spin, like trading card tournaments, wargames fought with tiny figurines, and she has sworn she has passed at least 3 game arcades. Her discipline wavered a bit on some of these, and thanks to some lucky shots at the firing range, she now owned two Plush toys. One was nearly half her size, and was some sort of creature called a 'wolf', it was white with red lines all over it, and had a round thing on its back, that she had to carry in her arms. The other one was a small one she had put in her bag, it was of an alliance woman in a pointy hat, who the store holder had referred to as an 'Ordinary magician'.

There was also various performances occurring throughout the Festival. There was dances of a startling variety and complexities, some being slow and melancholy to others being lively and full of life, Isika spent a great deal of time watching these. There was also feats of skill and strength, like wrestling, martial arts, archery, and other such things that Isika observed with mild interest.

But at some point when Isika stopped to catch her breath, she noticed something lying on the ground, and she walked over to get a closer look.

It was a deep purple and vaguely conical in shape. It seems to be made of folds, with a stick poking out the bottom of the cone.

' _What is that? Did someone lose it?'_ Isika thought to herself.

She bent over to get a closer look at it.

A long tongue extended from it, and licked her in the face.

"Eeiiii!" Isika exclaimed in shock and confusion, dropping her Plushy. Causing several nearby people to look at her in alarm, only for most of the Alliance people to look away and keep walking.

The object then stood up and opened up, and a small Alliance woman with blue hair, matching outfit and mismatched eyes to slide out, resting the now open umbrella on her shoulder. "Haha, oh wow I really got you good huh?"

"Wuh?" said Isika, stumped. "What, how?"

"It was a surprise silly," The girl said, as a small camera drone hovered down from above, "My name is Kogasa, and I am an umbrella youkai, nice to meet you."

"An… umbrella youkai?" Isika said, still confused.

"This thing." Kogasa said, tilting her umbrella, which only now did Isika notice the large tongue lolling out of it, and the large red eye. "And it's my job to surprise people. And I really surprised you, didn't I?" the girl looked very expectantly at her.

"Umm… yes very surprised," Isika said, her heart finally calming down.

"There you have it," Kogasa said, turning to and addressing her drone. "And this girl marks my twelfth Alien scare of the day. Who knew it was this easy? My fifty Alien goal is looking pretty good right now. Keep watching, folks at home. I'm going to give our new neighbors a welcome to remember."

Isika was now even more confused when Kogasa turned back to her. "Thanks for being such a good sport by the way, most of the others kinda got angry at me, or ran away screaming. Here."

She handed Isika a handful of the plastic bills, "Enjoy Reitaisai, I know I am."

Isika was now even more confused. "Wha?"

"Oh wow, I surprised you again." Kogasa beamed, "I am on a roll!" She then took off into the air being carried as if her umbrella caught a breeze. "Look me up on the web if you want. My website is called 'Kogasa Does Spooks'. See ya round!"

Isika sort of blinked stupidly, and looked down at her open hand. She was now suddenly richer then she had been a minute ago.

She looked up to where 'Kogasa' has flew off to. "That was... interesting." ' _Is that kind of thing normal around here?'_

The butterfly caught her attention, and picking up her wolf doll from where she had dropped it, she resumed her meandering tour of Reitaisai.

* * *

The butterfly had finally seemed to have reached its intended destination, a sort of bookshop looking booth with a sign that read 'The chronicles of Gensokyo' with a smaller title, underneath reading 'youkai information here'. It was quite a large booth, with many counters, although only one was currently occupied.

"Youkai information huh?" Isika murmured to herself. ' _Maybe this is what the ghost lady was talking about learning stuff?'_

The butterfly landed on her head at that point, and seemed content to rest there.

She walked over, making a beeline for the counter, and was surprised to find a girl who looked even younger than she did sitting behind the counter. She was dressed in very colourful and extremely fancy looking clothes, and had long purple hair decorated with a large flower.

"Hello, I am Hieda no Ajū. How may I help you?" The Little girl said graciously. "Do you wish to know more about Youkai?"

"Yes, please." Isika said. "Are you a youkai miss?"

Ajū laughed, "Oh goodness no, I am a human. I just happen to be very knowledgeable about youkai. What would you like to know?"

There was a lot she wanted to ask about youkai actually, ever since seeing Ambassador Flandre on the extranet. But she asked the most important one first. "I'm just wondering, about the types, there are lots of different types of youkai right?"

"That is correct, youkai is a blanket term more than anything. It encompasses many different species, and their powers and abilities are wide and varied."

Isika spoke the next question carefully. "I'm just wondering, is there any youkai that… umm, mess with people's heads? Like really badly?"

Ajū smiled knowingly. "Plenty. While mental magic is far from the most common form of magic, there are plenty of youkai who have the ability to 'mess with people's heads' as you put it."

"What sorts?" Isika said.

"My, you are strangely interested in this subject." Ajū said teasingly, but continued anyway. "Satoris are a prime example, they are passive mind readers, and some are capable of some truly frightening mind magics, Back in my previous incarnation, I knew two who were particularly powerful, the Komeiji sisters, one could attack you with your own past traumatic experiences, trapping you in your own painful memories, the other could move unseen and unnoticed wherever she went, only lingering in the minds of children. And there is Reisen Udongein Inaba, a moon rabbit, who has a power called the eyes of insanity, who can render anyone who looks her in the eyes temporarily mad. Parsee Mizuhashi, Doremy Sweet, to name a few more of the more well known ones."

"So it's pretty normal then?"

"Well, I wouldn't say normal, it is a rare talent. And historically those who possessed it were often feared and shunned. However times have changed, and now it is considered a perfectly acceptable, albeit rather invasive school of magic."

Isika nodded, while thinking, ' _so not normal, but accepted. Maybe that could mean…'_

"Anything else you want to know?" Ajū said. "And would you mind awfully if I asked a few questions myself? You are the first alien to come to my booth after all, and I must admit I am curious about a few things."

"Ummm…. Sure." siad Isika, warming up to the tiny girl, "I was kinda curious about someone I met earlier today, she called herself a ghost…"

Isika spent the next hour or so chatting amicably with the small girl, And while she left eventually to see the rest of the festival, she decided she might visit again tomorrow. After all, there just seemed to be so much to know.

* * *

Isika sat down in what was designated as a rest area, gently licking what was apparently called an 'Ice Cream'. It was incredibly tasty, but she had been warned as to not eat it too fast.

It had been hours since she had left Ajū, and she had needed a moment to sit down and rest her legs.

It was all so colourful and vibrant! There was so much to do and see, and everyone was super nice and helpful. She had been running around non stop, just checking out everything she could, absorbing as much as she could about the Alliance, zig zagging all over the place as different stalls and displays caught her attention.

' _The Alliance seems like so much fun!'_ Isika thought, ' _More fun than living on the citadel anyway'_

But that had seriously tired her out, so she had bought this weirdly refreshing frozen treat, and was now letting her legs recover.

But while her legs were tired, her eyes and ears were not, and she scanned her surroundings with interest.

Nearby, two alliance girls (She didn't know enough to differentiate the species yet) were conversing loudly. And Isika couldn't help but listening in.

"I'm telling you, let's pop down to the fight club, lots of hot guys and girls with their shirts off beating the crap out of each other, it will be fun!" said the taller of the two, she had yellow hair and wore a large wide brimmed hat, with a pointed top, like one of the dolls she had.

"I am not sitting around watching sweaty people fight just for you to indulge your fetishes." The shorter of the two said dryly. She had blue hair, and was mostly wearing blue. "I'd much rather go and see the avionics display, apparently they are showing off a new type of prototype fighter, that was co-designed By Nitori Kawashiro."

"Geez, Nitori this Nitori that. What is with you Kappa and Nitori?" The taller one said. "I don't see why I have to suffer technobabble just for the sake of **your** idol worship."

"You'd understand if there was only one human Operative," The 'Kappa' shot back, "Miss Nitori is the best our species has to offer, in both power and intellect, what's wrong with being proud?"

"Wow sorry I spoke." The 'human' said, rolling her eyes. "Still doesn't sort out where we are going."

The Kappa huffed. "No I guess not."

After a pause, the human spoke up. "I know what will though." She reached into her pocket

"What?" The Kappa said, but her eyes narrowed suspiciously, and she also reached into her pocket.

"Well… how about… DUELONETWOTHREEGO!" She said, pulling out a small sliver rod.

A ribbon of light whipped out of the tip, twirling into a about five crescent shaped projectiles.

But her friend had already jumped away, pulling out a much thicker rod, that erupted into a comically large hammer, that seemed to be made of yellow light. "I knew you'd pull something like this!" She roared swatting the projectiles out of the air. "Lets see what you got!" She brought the hammer down hard, causing a visible ripple through the air.

Isika watched, transfixed as the human jumped into the air, and stayed there, the ripple passing underneath her harmlessly, before conjuring countless more projectiles to launch at her friend.

And that is how it went, the two took to the air, the Kappa chasing around the human, swinging that massive hammer around, and creating all manor of strange projectiles and patterns in the air. Her friend nimbly stayed just out of reach, and responding in kind.

Several people in the rest area, mainly council races, hit the deck as the fight started. However most of the Alliance people either rolled their eyes, grumbled, or watched with interest.

Isika on the other hand…

"Wooahh…" she breathlessly intoned.

She could not take her eyes off it. She had heard a lot about magic wandering about today, even seeing a small bit here and there, like the butterfly that was still perched on her head, and the strange powers of the umbrella youkai, and she had seen the vids of the leaders of the Alliance, and the Ambassador and her bodyguard. But seeing it right here, in front of her, it was spellbinding. It was so pretty. And unless she misunderstood human aging, they didn't look too much older than her, and here they were fighting with fire, light, water and sound.

And they were Flying! Free as birds!

And Isika wondered... could she do that?

"Alright you two! Get down here!" came a voice, making Isika jump.

The new arrival was a tall woman, with short red hair, tied in a blue ribbon. She wore a short red cape, with a high collar, that covered the lower half of her face.

The two girls stopped immediately, their faces paling, before dropping down to the ground.

"Eh-heh… We were just-" the human girl said.

"Save it. Not interested." The caped woman said, holding up a hand. "You two want to duel, that's fine, spell card rules are in effect. But this is a **rest** area. Please take it somewhere else."

"Er.. right. Come on Sammi." the Kappa said, pulling the taller girl away.

"Students…" Muttered the caped woman.

Isika got up and followed them, running past her. "Umm Excuse me!"

The girls, turned around as one, looking at Isika with raised eyebrows. "Oh hey, you're one of the aliens." The human, supposedly called 'Sammi' said. "Can we help you?"

"Umm, yes, an Asari." she replied, quickly organising her thoughts. "Was that Magic?"

The two girls exchange 'are you serious' looks, before looking back. "Yeah? Why do you ask?"

"That's really cool!" Isika said, "How do you do magic?"

Sammi rubbed the back of her neck. "Now ain't that a question and a half…"

The Kappa decided to add her bit. "Most beings are capable of magic with the right training, environment and mindset, it is rather difficult to explain how one does perform magic, without first having experienced it first hand."

"You think I could learn magic?!" Isika said, excitedly.

The Kappa opened her mouth to speak, but Sammi beat her too it. "No idea, but the Magical academies are opening a booth somewhere off in that direction." she said pointing off into the distance. "They are trying to test Aliens for magical aptitude. Who knows, maybe you might get lucky."

Isika didn't need to be told twice. "Thankyou!" she said bowing, and running off in the indicated direction.

The Kappa then slapped Sammi in the back of the head. "Ow! What was that for?"

"That was an Asari you nimrod." The Kappa deadpanned.

"So?"

"They are the ones with the Element zero powers, she won't even be able to be tested." The Kappa said.

"Oh…"

"Yes, oh. Poor girl is gonna go all that way just to have her hopes dashed." The Kappa said dryly. "Maybe this will teach you to keep up with current affairs..."

* * *

"This is blatant discrimination!" The Asari said, hotly.

"No, its safety." said Koakuma, leaning on her counter. "Asari can't learn magic, too much Ezo."

"So you won't even let me take the test?" The Asari said angrily.

"The Test will **kill** you, how many times do I have to explain that? Element zero and magic do not mix well, so unless you decide to suddenly stop being biotic, I can't help you." The redhead said. "Now if you don't mind, you are holding up the counter."

The Asari skulked off muttering to herself.

Koakuma sighed, looking off into the distance, and wondered how many more times she was going to have to have that conversation before she gets relieved.

"I-is it true that Asari can't learn magic?"

"Yes yes, for the hundredth time ye…" Koakuma said, turning irritably, only to be met with a teary eyed child, clutching an Okami plushie in her arms, and a glowing butterfly on her head.

"Oh, err, sorry kid. Shouldn't have snapped at you like that." Koakuma said awkwardly. "I've… had a long day."

"Why?" said Isika sniffling. She had rushed over here at fast as she could, but when she had arrived, she had been met with that scene.

"Look, I'm sorry. But like I said to the one before, magic and biotics don't mix. It reacts pretty violently."

Isikas head bowed, still sniffling.

"Hey it's not so bad," Koakuma said awkwardly, almost wishing she was dealing with one of the belligerent ones. "You still have your… biotics… I'm sure you can do some cool stuff with that, right?"

"No… no one really taught me how." mumbled Isika.

Koakuma screams internally.

"Koakuma, are you having... difficulties?"

Koakuma thanked whatever gods that happened to be listening, as she turned to bow to her mistress. "Not as such Lady Patchouli, but… you see…" She turned to look at Isika, before turning back, and prodding the mental link, requesting access, which Patchouli allowed.

" _I have a little girl, an Asari, and she seems rather… distraught by the fact that she can't use magic, and I'm having trouble softening the blow."_

" _I see, would you like me to take her off your hands?"_

" _It would be very much appreciated Mistress."_

Patchouli nodded, before turning to Isika. "Do you mind coming with me for a moment?"

Isika was slightly nervous at following a stranger. But she saw that the woman had an ID, and the man said they were trustworthy, so she followed her.

She took her to a back area behind the booth, where there was hardly any people around. Just a few more oddly dressed people who seemed to stop their conversations to watch as Patchouli looked down at Isika, before crouching down to her level in an effort to be less intimidating. "So, you wanted to learn magic?"

Isika nodded, "It… It all looked so pretty, and cool, and it can do so many things. But Biotics can't use it?"

"I'm afraid so." Patchouli said, "Element Zero, and by extension dark energy have a negative reaction with magic. Mixing them together can be violent, and sometimes fatal for those involved."

"So as long as I am a biotic, I can't use magic…" she said. "What if I stopped being a biotic?"

"... excuse me?" Patchouli said, incredulously.

"Can I do that? Would that be possible?" Isika said, a little spark alighting in her eyes

"I, don't know." Patchouli admitted. "We have never encountered biotics before your race. But would you really be willing to give up something like that-"

"Yes!" Isika said, "I don't even use them. But I would really like to learn magic!"

"Well, while I would normally condone such aspirations… Are your parents around? Would they approve of this?" Patchouli said, wondering how she got into such an odd conversation.

Isika looked at the ground "... I live alone."

"I… see." Patchouli said, sighing. "Well, look. I can't really make any promises… but do you have any contact details, so I might get back to you?"

Isika brightened a little bit, before pulling out her datapad (she couldn't afford an omnitool). "I have an extranet address." she said, showing the pad to her.

"Right." said Patchouli, sighing again, making a note of the address on her wrist-comp. "And might I have your name?"

"Isika." said Isika, a glimmer of hope in her eyes.

"Very well Isika. I shall try to get back to you before the departure date." Patchouli said, making a note of the name. "Now go enjoy the rest of the festival."

"Thankyou Mi- I mean, lady Patchouli." Isika said, bowing like Koakuma, before running off.

After she left Patchouli was approached by Marisa and Alice, who had been listening.

"Are you honestly going to try and remove her biotics?" Alice said, raising her eyebrow.

"I don't even know if such a thing is possible." Patchouli said, "but at the same time, it was clear why she was so desperate."

Marisa nodded sagely. "Yup. Runaway if ever I saw one. Probably hasn't got much waiting for her back home, if she even has a home."

"My thoughts exactly." Patchouli said. "While I believe her interest in magic is genuine, I believe it might also be in part a desire to find a new home within the alliance."

"And you are thinking of taking her up on it?" Alice said.

"At the very least, we can see about getting her back to her family, or get her in a foster home if she truly does not have a home worth going back to." Patchouli said

Marisa who seemed to be lost in thought, grimaced at Patchouli's words. "Nah, that wont do at all." She muttered, mostly to herself.

"Excuse me?" Patchouli said, raising her eyebrow.

Marisa seemed to come down from whatever cloud she was on, and flashed one of her signature grins. "You girls mind holding down the fort for a bit? I gotta make some calls."

Marisa walked away, bringing up her wrist-comp

"What are you…" Patchouli said, trailing off.

"You can't honestly be considering…" Alice said, catching on slightly faster

"Hey, if you girls won't take her, I will!" said Marisa, grinning over her shoulder. "Just gotta make some preparations first…"

* * *

Isika sighed over breakfast.

It was the final morning of Reitaisai, and the time specified on her return ticket. And she still hadn't heard back from Patchouli.

"I'm sure you'll hear from her," The elderly woman in charge of her lodgings said reassuringly. "A Magician isn't the kind of person to break their word, you'll see."

Isika nodded mutely, nibbling on her toast.

She wondered if she could just 'miss' the flight back to the citadel and live here, although she would need to find some sort of income. She was used to odd jobs anyway, although it might be harder to get away with it here though, considering that everyone around here can fly and use magic.

There was a beeping from the woman's wrist computer. "Excuse me dear, while I take this."

As she shuffled off, Isika got a notification on her datapad, and her spirits soared.

Quickly opening the message, her excitement quickly turned to confusion, for it wasn't Patchouli who had sent the message.

 _Yo Isika_

 _Don't go anywhere. Be with you in a bit._

 _Love, Marisa. 3_

"Oh Deary?" The old woman had returned. "I've just been asked to extend your stay for a few more days. By Marisa Kisame it seems. It might be the wrong Magician, but it looks like you have gotten your response now, isn't that nice?"

Isika just stared up at her, struck dumb, and she looked down at the strange note she had received.

Then the corners of her mouth formed a brave little smile.

And she dared to hope, that maybe, just maybe she would finally be accepted for who she is.

* * *

Chapter notes:

 **Well here we are my second story on this site, and it is an official (Read: TouhouFanatic let me do it) Spinoff to the** **excellent** **story: The Boundary Effect, I hope you enjoy.**

 **By the way, would you like Codex pages like there are on the main story down here?**


	2. Chapter 2 - Meet the Mentor, Marisa

Isika stuffed as much of her Meager belongings as she could into her bag. After two days of hanging around Shanxi, she had finally gotten another message from the mysterious Marisa. She was going to be moved to a place called Arcturus station, deeper in Alliance space, so now she had to pack.

This was proving to be difficult however. Despite coming here with only limited funds and a small backpack, she had somehow ended up with far more stuff then she had come with. Just as well, because she was now broke.

"Stupid impulse buying." She muttered to herself, as she tried to figure out how she was going to carry all these plushies and dolls to the spaceport.

Isikas datapad made a notification noise, distracting her. She wondered if it was Marisa again, so she picked it up.

But it wasn't Marisa, in fact it took her a minute to recognise the address, it belonged to the girl who ran 'The Chronicles of Gensokyo' booth, Ajū.

Isika over the course of the ten day festival, had frequently visited the young writer in her booth. There was so many different kinds of Youkai after all, and Ajū was more than happy to share everything she knew on most subjects.

They had also ended up talking about each other as well. While Isika was slightly more reserved, Ajū had told Isika a lot about herself. It was that way that she found out that Ajū was over 1300 years old… in a sense. Apparently Ajū is a spirit that 'reincarnates' every one hundred and twenty-to-eighty years, but she retains her intellect, her knowledge, and a certain amount of memories, the last one dependant on how much she wanted to remember. The fact that many youkai live well beyond the Asaris lifespan was mind boggling enough, but this kind of bizarre lifecycle was well beyond Isikas comprehension. Despite all this, her current age was seven years old.

Nevertheless she had bonded with the 'young' girl, and they had exchanged contact details on the last day, after they figured out how to get their technology to talk to each other.

But If Isika had been honest with herself, she hadn't expected to hear back from Ajū after she had left back to her home on the Alliance homeworld. It wasn't because she didn't enjoy her company, but because she didn't really expect Ajū would care enough to try.

Back when she lived on the citadel, she was what most would have referred to as a 'Duct Rat', a sort of homeless child that live in the various vents and tunnels that went all over the citadel (and were far more numerous then the council cared to admit), and did odd jobs for credits. She did have friends back there, but most friendships never really lasted. You hung out, if you got caught doing something shady you don't know anyone and nobody knew you, and if you get a chance to get out of the life, you took it and never looked back.

' _Kinda like I did."_ thought Isika.

But it seems that Ajū thought otherwise. Isika opened the chat app.

* * *

 **Ajū:** Hello Isika

 **Isika:** Hello

 **Ajū:** you took a while to respond, I didn't catch you at a bad time did I?

 **Isika:** Not really, whats up?

 **Ajū:** Oh nothing much, I just finished settling in back home,and was having a quiet moment, so I thought I'd see how you were doing.

 **Ajū:** Did Patchouli end up getting back to you?

 **Isika:** No, but someone called Marisa did. She's apparently a magician too.

 **Ajū:** Ahh, Marisa. Makes sense. This would probably be more up her alley.

 **Isika:** You know her then?

 **Ajū:** I knew her quite well in my last life, I haven't seen her much since being reincarnated, but we still consider each other friends

 **Isika:** She says she's gonna be the one helping me learn magic.

 **Isika:** What's she like?

 **Ajū:** Like I said we haven't hung out too much since I have been reincarnated, and I have no idea how she would act in a professional setting. But knowing her, she hasn't changed much.

 **Ajū:** She is very energetic and carefree. She is quick to smile and crack a joke. Her magic style is mostly focused around light, heat and pure firepower.

 **Ajū:** She also has a habit of 'borrowing' things that aren't hers, without asking. Then again she is an 'operative' now, and runs a magical Academy, so perhaps responsibility helped her kick the habit.

 **Ajū:** Probably not though

 **Isika:** And this is going to be my teacher?

 **Ajū:** Don't worry, despite the way she acts she is an extraordinarily hard worker, and very stubborn. If she says she is going to teach you magic, she means it. You'll give up on yourself before she does

 **Ajū:** She puts 100% into everything she does, and will expect the same from you

 **Ajū:** Just have an open mind, and I'm sure you will get along.

 **Isika:** alright thanks, I think I needed that

 **Ajū:** Happy to help

 **Isika:** by the way, do you have any idea how to get about 20 plushies into a backpack?

 **Ajū:** that's an oddly specific question…

* * *

The was what could only be described as a 'movement' as the ship left the boundary slip. It hadn't been as bad as the first one, but considering the first had made her feel like she had died, that was hardly an improvement. The whole thing made her skin crawl.

Arcturus station was impressive however. Two gigantic back to back crescents, one large one small, with the large one housing many of the Alliances massive dreadnoughts.

"Woah…" Isika intoned breathlessly.

"Pretty cool isn't it?" said the Alliance soldier escorting her.

"Yeah…" said Isika, her face glued to the window.

Docking was a quick affair, as the cruiser pulled into an unoccupied bay, and before she knew it, the soldier lead her into the station proper.

"Miss Kirisame said she would be here to meet us…" The man said.

"And here I am!" came a voice from Isikas immediate left, and she felt a hand on her shoulder, making her jump. She looked up to see a tall blonde woman.

She was dressed very strangely, wearing an odd assortment of black and white cloth, with strange metal bits in places. Her most outstanding feature however was her big enthusiastic grin.

She looked up to the soldier. "Good work Adams, I'll take it from here."

"Yes Ma'am!" the soldier said, saluting before walking off.

The woman then refocused on Isika. "Hey there, Isika right? You probs don't remember, but I was hanging around when you and Patchi had your little pow-wow. Marisa Kirisame, Ordinary Magician, Headmaster of the Final Spark, and your soon to be magic teacher."

"Umm… Hello- I mean, thank you- Er…" Isika fumbled, overwhelmed by Marisas presence.

"Easy there kid don't hurt yourself. Plenty of time for that later. Come on, let's get you settled in, shall we?"

Marisa set off at a brisk pace, forcing Isika to scramble to keep up, dragging her second bag (she had been forced to borrow one).

"Sorry I couldn't get to you sooner, but me and the other magicians have been running a magic class for some other volunteers from the council. It's taken this long to get a free moment." Marisa said conversationally.

"Oh! Will I be-" Isika said.

"Sorry kid, you won't be joining that class, we gotta get rid off all that Eezo first. 'sides, that class is full of grown ass adults, not sure it will be kid friendly." Marisa said, anticipating the question.

"Oh…" said Isika, drooping a bit.

"Hey, don't get so glum, while it will take you a bit longer to get there, you will be getting something far more valuable." Marisa said, catching Isikas downcast expression.

"I will?"

"Yeah, my almost undivided attention as a teacher. Way better than some generalist class." Marisa said. "But thats future talk, for now we gotta get you settled in."

After a long walk through the massive station, many people giving Isika curious glances as she passed, Marisa led her to a short corridor, with about six doors leading off it.

"For the time being, this will be where you are staying." Marisa said. She pointed to the room in the corner. "That will be your apartment, it's not that big, but it has a bed, a desk, and a bathroom. The room next door is a living space, complete with lounge area and kitchen, your meals will be sent there, so make sure you are there to get them. Feel free to spend your free time there." She pointed to the door on the end. "That's another bathroom." She pointed to the opposite door. "That one there is an examination room, where you will probably be spending most of the following month."

"What?" Isika said.

"You see, the first hurdle we need to jump is figuring out just how Asari tick." Marisa said. "And that means putting you under the microscope for a bit. Get a grip with just how much Eezo there is in there before we can actually remove it."

"Oh, right." said Isika. Makes sense when she put it like that.

"You ok with that, by the way?" Marisa said.

Isika nodded, "I've come this far, no point in backing out now."

"That's the ticket." Marisa said. "And now it's time to see the doc."

She lead Isika through the door next to the examination room, which lead into a small office. At the desk was a tall Alliance woman with Silver hair, with a odd blue and red hat, with a matching dress. Her expression was stern, as she examined some papers on the table

"Yo Eirin," got your patient here." Marisa said.

"I can see that Marisa, thank you." Eirin said, looking up. "Good evening Miss Isika, please take a seat." She gestured to the seat opposite.

As Isika sat down, Marisa spoke. "I guess this is my cue to split. I still got stuff to do back on the Philosophe, and Patche's probably getting impatient."

"Very well, I will take it from here." Eirin said.

"I leave her in your capable hands doc." Marisa said, before waving to Isika. "See ya kiddo, I'll drop in every now and then when I ain't too busy. Be good for the good doctor."

She left as fast as she had come, leaving Isika quite buffudled as she stared at the closed door.

"Here and gone in a flash, you will get used to it." Eirin said, bringing Isikas attention back to her. "As Marisa said, I am Lady Eirin Yagokoro, and as a favour to Marisa, I will be the doctor in charge of your… treatment."

"So you are going to be the one who gets rid of all the Eezo?" Isika said.

"Perhaps, we shall see." Eirin said, making some notes on a notepad in front of her.

"Eh?"

Eirin sighed. "As it happens I currently have no idea how we will be purging the Element zero from your system. Our people have never had Biotics, so there was never the need for such a procedure. I will be forced to try and invent an entirely new treatment, and that will only be after I have completed an incredibly thorough medical examination. I am sorry to inform you that it will probably be well over a month before we can even consider treatment. If there even is a treatment."

"Oh…" Isika said, her expression drooping.

"I apologise for my bluntness, but knowing Marisa she has probably been approaching the situation with unwarranted optimism." Eirin said. "I Thought It would be best to give you a more pessimistic perspective to save you from undue disappointment, should this not work out. Keep in mind however that I am taking this seriously, if there is a treatment, I endeavour to find it. While I do not mean to boast, there are few more qualified than I."

This helped Isika a little bit. "Thank you."

"You are welcome." Eirin said, smiling. "You are a brave girl for coming this far. It would be very rude to not perform my best."

She stood up. "If you like, we can start immediately. Just put your things in your room, and meet me in the room next door."

"Yes Miss Eirin." Isika said, running out the room with her bags."

Eirin shook her head. "I only hope this doesn't end in tears…"

* * *

 **Chapter notes:**

 **Second chapter, where Isika meets Marisa, and the good doctor.**

 **Before anyone jumps down my throat: Yes, I am aware that Eirin will be going to Tuchanka, I know that, you know that, But Eirin and Marisa doesn't know that yet. It will be addressed in chapter four.**

 **But anyway, the first, incredibly shaky steps toward magicianhood.**

 **For anyone wondering about the update for my other story, it is written… I'm just not happy with it yet. It's mostly just stuff that happens between last chapter and Halloween. I'm going to start speeding up that story, because there really isn't a lot to work with in the first book to be honest. Or the second book really.**

 **Anyway, that will be out some time soonish.**


	3. Chapter 3 - The Doctor does her dues

"Hey Eirin, what have you got for me?" Marisa said, walking into Eirins office.

Eirin sighed. "Would it be too much to ask for you to call ahead?"

"Not my style." Marisa said, grinning. "So what have you got?"

Eirin sighed and brought up the relevant files on her wrist-comp. "In the past month I have examined her biology in almost every possible way short of actually dissecting her, I believe we have enough data to start discussing the _possibility_ of treatment."

"Awesome," said Marisa, straddling the chair opposite Eirin, "Can you give me a rundown?"

"Would you prefer the short version or the long version?" Eirin said.

"Short version, I'll ask for clarification if I need it." Marisa said.

Eirin nodded. "Very well. The most prominent presence of Element Zero in her body are relatively large clumps spread throughout her nervous system. These 'nodes' are what we believe the biotic ability stems from. The nervous impulses trigger the nodes, allow the generation of dark energy and the creation of mass effect fields."

"So we just get rid of the nodes then?" Marisa said.

"If it were only the nodes then yes, a relatively simple surgery and a detox would be all it would take." Eirin said, bringing up an eezo heatmap to show Marisa. "However, as it has been noted, the Asari homeworld is very element zero rich, and it shows in her biology. Loose particles are spread through her body and cellular structure. They contribute little, if anything to her biotic ability, but it will prevent her from interacting safely with magic."

"Sounds tricky." Marisa said, looking at the scans with interest.

"'Tricky' does not even begin to describe it." Eirin said. "In fact without magicly assisted procedure, I would have to consider this close to impossible. I'm sorry Marisa, but I have difficulty seeing this work."

"Now don't give up just yet doc." Marisa said. "This might not be as complicated as you think."

Eirin deadpanned. "Marisa you just walked in and looked at a diagram, you can't honestly expect me to believe you already have a solution."

"Well I've been tossing around ideas in my free time anyway," Marisa said dismissively, wearing her signature grin. "I sorta guessed it might be something like this. The nodes were a surprise, but I still have an idea that just might do the trick..."

Eirin did not look impressed. "Marisa, I know you, and I know that smile. That's your 'I'm about to do something reckless and or stupid' smile. Tell me what you are planning or I swear I won't let you within fifty meters of my patient for as long as you live."

Marisa held up her hands defensively, her grin not leaving her face. "Alright alright, calm down, I was gonna tell you anyway…"

* * *

 **Ajū:** Good morning, Isika

 **Ajū:** It is morning right?

 **Isika:** Yeah, it's morning, hi Ajū

 **Isika:** whats up?

 **Ajū:** Oh nothing, much, I just needed a break from work, and decided to check on my favourite Alien

 **Ajū:** How about you?

 **Isika:** really tired, all these medical exams are wearing me out

 **Ajū:** I can only Imagine

 **Isika:** They've been doing this for a month, how much more tests can there be?

 **Ajū:** Now be patient

 **Ajū:** you are probably the first living Asari they have ever examined, and they can't use the usual magical tools

 **Ajū:** Not to mention they are going to have to invent an entirely new medical procedure to remove the ezo from your body

 **Ajū:** You should be thanking them for how thorough they are being, not moaning about how long its taking.

. . .

 **Isika:** You're right, sorry

 **Ajū:** of course I am

. . .

 **Isika:** Oh, it's time for my examinations again, got to go

 **Ajū:** alright, we'll talk later

 **Isika:** Bye

* * *

Isika closed the text chat app on her datapad, and jumped off her bed to get dressed.

It was nice having a friend to talk to. Eirin tended to be rather stiff, and pretty unapproachable, and Marisa only popped in periodically, as she was busy with the magic course.

Having dressed in some of the clothes that they had provided her, a 'hoodie' and 'jeans'. She walked out of her room, to get some breakfast, a quick bowl of something called cereal, that she had grown to be rather fond of before crossing the hall into the examination room.

Isika had only just sat down on the exam table when the door opened behind her. Only instead of Eirin, Marisa entered the room, The doctor following behind.

"Yo." said Marisa, cheerily, "How you doing today?"

Isika stood up and bowed, something she had seen others do in the presence of people like Eirin and Marisa. "H-hello Miss Marisa!"

"Hey easy there kiddo." marisa said, gently pushing her on the forehead, making her fall back into her seat. "Save it for when you are actually my apprentice."

" **If** she becomes your apprentice." Eirin said, closing the door behind her. "Don't speak as if it's a certainty, you're only putting ideas in the poor girls head."

Isika flinched a bit at Eirins words. Eirin doesn't really pull any punches when it comes to her chances of becoming a magician.

"Hey, play nice." said Marisa, "no need to dampen her spirits too much. Especially when we have good news."

"If you can call it good news." Muttered Eirin.

"What good news?" Isika said, eagerly.

"We have gathered all the data we can." Eirin said, "We have a comprehensive understanding of your biology, so there will be no further examinations."

"And we can get right into getting rid of those pesky biotics." Marisa said, cheerily.

"Really?!" Isika said, excited.

"Ehem!" said Eirin, drawing attention back to her. "However, the Element zero in your biology is more diffuse than we thought, so removal is going to prove far more difficult than was anticipated."

"Oh." said Isika, her heart sinking slightly.

"But I have a solution." Marisa said.

Isikas heart rose again.

" **Possible** solution. What have I told you about putting ideas in her head?" Eirin said, scolding Marisa.

"W-what is it?" Isika, said, whose heart had given up in confusion.

Eirin sighed, and activated a wall screen with her wrist-comp, showing a silhouette of Isikas body, with a simplified image of her nervous system imposed on it.

"As you may or may not know, the highest concentrations of eezo are tied in with your nervous system, and is what allows your kind to use biotics. However," and here Erin imposed a heatmap over the silhouette, mostly in low green, but with some yellow around her stomach, chest and head, with red dots over various points in the nervous system and brain, "our examinations have shown a low presence of Eezo throughout your body, especially concentrated around your head and torso. This kind of dispersion would make its total removal practically impossible by any mundane means."

But before Isikas hopes were totally dashed, Marisa cut in. "But we are not completely limited to mundane means. Eirin if you please."

Eirin sighed, and changed the graphic, this time a simple one, showing a small blue ball, labelled 'Element Zero'.

Marisa then started explaining. "Now first before I explain my method, I'm going to give you a quick rundown of what Eezo and magic do to each other. I'll try to keep it simple." another ball appeared, this one labeled 'Magic' and was yellow. "Now as is already been established, they don't like each other. Mass effect fields disrupt and mess up magic," a lighter blue field extended from the blue ball, and where it touched the yellow one it went wobbly and starts disintegrating, before returning to normal after the field receded. "And magic destabilizes dark energy and damages Eezo, sometimes with explosive results." A yellow field extended out of the magic ball, damaging the blue ball in a similar manner than before. "It's these kind of indirect interactions that cause contamination sickness in both magicians and biotics, and why you can't learn magic. You following so far kid?"

After Isika tentatively nodded, Marisa continued. "Good, because this is where it starts getting interesting. Because if we apply juuust the the right amount of magic, exactly over the center of low activity Eezo…" The two circles moved to the center of the screen completely overlapping, before they both disintegrated completely, "... it results in perfect, mutual annihilation, almost completely clean." The graphic then switched back to the heatmap. "And this is preeetty much what we are gonna do to you."

"Wait, what?" Isika said, alarmed.

Eirin sighed. "While Marisas plan is certifiably insane, it is not without merits, allow me to explain." The diagram zoomed into one of the fingers, and then kept zooming, until the heat map was comprised of green dots, as opposed to the general green area it was before. "What Marisa proposes, is that we pinpoint each individual particle of Element Zero, and superimpose a nanoscopic magical singularity over each." on the diagram the green dots glow, then vanish one at a time across the screen, until none were left. It then zoomed back out, to the whole body view, this time the finger being completely blue. "While certainly a slow process, and one that will require a great deal of precision, we could completely remove all Element zero from your body using this method."

"You mean, for real?" Isika said excitement in her voice, "And I could learn magic then?"

"Hold your horses there." Marisa said, putting a hand on her shoulder. "As much as I hate to be the buzzkill, there are a few more things about the procedure we gotta talk about first."

"Like what?" said Isika, getting a feeling she wasn't going to like this.

"Like the potential risks and complications." said Eirin, proving Isika right. "These Eezo particles are practically omnipresent. Skin, muscle, tissue, organs, it's everywhere. And while we can prevent the damage caused by the reaction, we cannot prevent the damage caused by their sudden absence. On top of the painstakingly slow process of removing the eezo, we will have to be constantly dealing with tissue damage, skin deterioration, internal hemorrhaging, replenishing blood cells, nerve damage, not to mention when we reach the internal organs like the stomach, lungs and brain. We will be fighting a constant battle against your body just to keep you alive. And that's not even mentioning the extraordinary amount of pain the procedure will cause. And if there was even the slightest slip up with the magic levels… I'm not going to sugarcoat this for you, this procedure could very well kill you, and it will be a very painful way to die. And even if the operation is a success, even though magic will no longer react badly with you, there will be no guarantee that you will be capable of performing it afterwards."

"...Oh." said Isika, her voice small.

"Which is why you gotta make a choice." Marisa said. Kneeling down to Isikas level, hand still on her shoulder.

"Huh?"

Eirin sighed again. "Normally I would not even bring up such a procedure to you, however, with your desire to learn magic, and the improbability of finding a safer alternative. Marisa convinced me to at least leave the decision to you."

"Just so you know kiddo," Marisa said, her face unusually serious. "Even if you don't want to go through with this, it won't mean you have to go back. Biotic or not, If you want to still be in the Alliance, we can register you as a citizen and drop you into the foster system. So don't feel pressured to go through with this unless you really want to be a magician."

Isika looked at Marisa, surprised at the offer. She wondered how much Marisa knew about her, as she hadn't told anyone she was homeless yet.

"On top of that," Eirin added, "While I do not entirely approve, if you should decide to go through with it, I will do everything in my power to ensure the operation is a success. You have my word."

Isika sat there in her own thoughts for a moment. She could simply become an Alliance citizen, to back out of this potentially lethal procedure. But…

"I… I want to do it." Isika said, he voice quivering slightly.

"Are you sure? no shame in backing out." Marisa said, but she was grinning.

"I'll do it." Isika said, this time with a bit more conviction.

"I don't know, I'm not feeling it from you yet…" said Marisa.

"I'll do it! I want to become a Magician!" Isika said, almost shouting.

"That's the Spirit!" Marisa said, clapping Isika on her back, and laughing.

Eirin sighed and shook her head. "Very well, I shall begin to make preparations, I only hope we don't regret it...

* * *

 **Chapter notes:**

 **And once more Eirin gets the last word.**

 **Nothing really to say here, but enjoy!**


	4. Chapter 4 - Medical Melancholy

"Yo, Alice!"

Alice, who was returning to her own ship after classes, turned to face one of her oldest friends. "Marisa, I was wondering where you slipped off too… And Lady Yagokoro? This is a surprise. What is the matter?"

"Yeah sorry, I had an urgent call. Look we need your help with something." Marisa said, rubbing the back of her neck apologetically.

"Is this something to with do the young Asari you have been… helping? I remember you had enlisted Lady Yagokoros help in that matter." Alice said.

"Very astute, Miss Margatroid, you are correct." Eirin said. "For the past two weeks, I have been the one performing the procedure to remove all Eezo from her body, however, there has been a minor… complication. Not life threatening, but problematic."

"What sort of complication?" Alice said.

"Lady Kaguya has requested my presence for an important assignment, and as such I will soon no longer be able to perform the operation myself." Eirin said.

"Ah," said Alice, "that is problematic."

"The timing couldn't be worse either." said Marisa, looking annoyed. "We were just about to start the most difficult part, and now our best doc is being summoned for some secret mission. So now we need someone to replace her."

"Let me guess, you want me to be that someone?" Alice said.

"Got it in one." said Marisa grinning.

Alice thought about it. "I am going to need some details before I agree to anything. First off, what is the nature of the operation? There must be a reason you are seeking out a magician as opposed to a doctor. I have no formal medical training to speak of after all."

"A simple reason. The operation requires more magical fidelity then it does medical knowledge, and I have already arranged for the medical aspect to be taken care of by my former student. The operation is mutually annihilating the individual Eezo particles in nanoscopic magical singularities one at a time."

"Hmm, crude, but I suppose you did not have a lot of options available. Would that not cause excessive tissue damage though? What is the current status of the patient?"

"She is… stable." Eirin said. "But you are correct in the fact that it deals damage to the body. Her skin and musculature has deteriorated somewhat in the affected areas, and we have to be on constant lookout for internal bleeding. But due to the large concentrations of Eezo in her Nervous system, that has suffered the most damage, she has lost a majority of her motor function, and sensory input in her right arm, and both legs. Her left arm is still functional, but only because we felt it prudent to leave her dominant hand unaffected until the last possible moment. Once we start on her torso, we will have to induce a coma and put her on life support."

"Goodness." Alice said, holding her hand to her mouth in concern.

"It's not so bad." Marisa said, "She knew what she was getting into, and once we get rid of all that Eezo, we will be able to fix her up as good as new."

"If she survives." added Eirin.

"Yes that." Marisa said.

"I suppose that answers my question about whether it can be put off." Alice said.

"Yes, Unfortunately this is too far into the proceedings. Stopping for an extended length of time may cause further deterioration in health, and runs risk of her body healing incorrectly. Otherwise I would simply put it on hold until this mission is complete."

"I suppose the next question would be, are there any others who could perform the operation, or just me specifically?" Alice asked.

"Very few I imagine, besides myself." Eirin said. "It requires magical control of an insanely high degree. You and Yukari's Fox are the only ones I can think of at this time."

"And I suppose Ran is out of the question?" Alice said.

Marisa made a face, "Getting her help would mean involving Yukari, And I'd rather not have the kid owing the gap hag any favours, she'll have enough problems as it is." Marisa stepped forward, and put both hands on Alice's shoulders,and looked her dead in the eye. "Seriously though, the kids putting everything she's got on the line for this small chance at becoming a magician, and I'd rather that chance be in the hands of someone I trust."

Alice was taken slightly aback by the sincerity of Marisas voice, and the serious look on her face. She then sighed. "Very well, I see you are serious about this. Teach me how, and I shall perform the operation."

Marisa then brought the shorter Magician in for a hug. "Thanks Alice, I mean it."

"Oh knock it off." Alice huffed, disentangling herself from Marisas arms, although the was no venom in her voice.

"Right, right sorry." Marisa said, grinning.

Once Alice reclaimed her dignity, she continued. "However I request she be placed in the medbay of the Wonderland, I am still teaching in the magic course, and therefore my time is limited, so I would prefer her close, especially if this is going to be taking weeks of my time. Also if I am deployed on an assignment, I will be able to continue the operation in the mission downtime with the resources I have onboard."

"That can be arranged." Eirin said, making a note of it on her wrist-comp.

"In fact, I'll go arrange it." Marisa said, walking off. "Docs gotta show you the proceedings after all. You two just get a sick bed ready for her when I get back."

Eirin and Alice watched her go.

"A prudent move I suppose." Eirin said, "I suppose we had better do what she says."

Alice was already sending a message from her Wrist-Comp. "I have instructed them to prepare one of the med Bays for her arrival. I suppose we should go over the procedure?"

Eirin nodded. "First let us go get Reisen, as she is the one who will be assisting you. She should have arrived by now, then I can talk you both over it. After that, Kaguya has given me a day or two to sort out my affairs, I shall give you both a demonstration, and then observe as you perform it, to make sure she is in good hands before I leave."

"That is acceptable. Shall we go?" Alice said.

"Of course."

* * *

 **Isika:** Hey Ajū, you there?

 **Ajū:** Yes

 **Isika:** Are you busy?

 **Ajū:** I can spare a few moments, what's on your mind?

 **Isika:** A bit actually

 **Isika:** Apparently Eirin can't be my doctor anymore, so they are handing me over to someone else to finish the operation

 **Ajū:** Oh dear, did they say who?

 **Isika:** Marisa said it was a friend of hers.

 **Ajū:** probably Alice then, you are in good hands

 **Isika:** that's good to know, I guess

 **Ajū:** Something else on your mind?

. . .

 **Isika:** Marisa said they are probably going to be putting me under after I arrive.

 **Ajū:** Ah, so it is finally that point in the proceedings

 **Isika:** Yeah

 **Isika:** It's also the most dangerous part.

 **Ajū:** I see…

 **Ajū:** Are you scared?

 **Isika:** yeah, kinda.

 **Ajū:** Are you sure you want to go through with this?

 **Isika:** too late for regrets now. I promised Marisa, and I promised myself. I'd be a magician or I'd die trying

 **Ajū:** Oh Isika…

 **Isika:** But when I was lying in bed, it kinda hit me that this could be the very last message I ever send you.

 **Isika:** So I just want to let you know, that you've been a better friend to me than anyone I've ever known, and I'm glad I met you.

 **Ajū:** Thank you. I too value you as a friend. I am truly happy that you were the first alien I met. I don't often make friends, but I treasure the ones I have.

 **Isika:** Can you do me a favour? Its kinda selfish.

 **Ajū:** what is it?

 **Isika:** If I die, can you promise not to forget me?

 **Ajū:** Of course, I promise.

 **Isika:** Thanks, it means a lot to me.

 **Ajū:** I know.

. . .

 **Isika:** Marisa's here, got to go, goodbye Ajū

 **Ajū:** Good luck

* * *

Ajū lowered her Wrist-Comp, and stared down at the manuscript she had been writing, no longer feeling up to it.

It was true she doesn't have a lot of friends, 30 years of life every century and a half was not a lot of time to forge strong bonds, especially when you spend most of that time working in her study. Most of her friends were long lived youkai, like Yukari, and even then, they could be counted on her fingers. She had been quite delighted to find out that most of her friends from her last incarnation were still alive, even the human ones. Indeed, even her parents from her last life (now her great grandparents) were still around, which was a very strange feeling for her.

She had been quite happy to know that Asari were incredibly long lived as well, expecting a friendship to span over multiple reincarnations. But now…

...She shook her head, to shake away those thoughts ' _No, I will not regret knowing her, not after that promise._ '

Still, she offered a silent prayer to the myriad gods, praying for the life of her friend.

* * *

Isika just sat lost in her thoughts, staring down at her Bandaged right arm, as Marisa pushed her along on a wheelchair along the wide corridors of Arcturus, on the way to the Wonderland, where the rest of the operation will be taking place.

"Hey kid." Marisa said, she was speaking softer than Isika was used to. I guess even she can read a mood. "Got a minute to talk?"

"What do you want to talk about?" Isika asked. Like many people, she found it hard to dislike Marisa. In the few times she had popped in during the procedure, she tended to be fun to be around, and was good at cheering her up. She was actually kind of looking forward to having her as a teacher, if she made it that is.

"It just occurred to me that we haven't really talked that much is all." Marisa said. "Thought I might take the chance to get to know you, to learn a bit about my future apprentice. After all you are gonna be asleep for quite a while after this, and I'm sure that after that you'd want to get straight into magic right? Might as well ask the questions while we got a quiet moment."

Isika thought about it. She hasn't really told anyone about where she came from except Ajū. But she guesses Marisa has done so much for her that she deserves to know. And if she didn't make it out of this at least it would be one more person to remember her. "Sure, I guess I should probably get a few things off my chest. I guess you want to know why I came here?"

Marisa simply watched, and listened, she was going to let Isika set the pace, something Isika was thankful for.

"My full name is Isika Valao. I lived with my parents on Thessia, until about a year ago. They were… good people I guess. They could be a little distant at times, but they were important and busy people so I guess it was understandable, and I never felt unloved. My… Father I guess, was a respected doctor of some kind, and she was testing a device that supposedly was for detecting a specific genetic defect that was apparently present in one percent of all Asari. It's condition that causes Asari who have it, to be unable to couple with others without damaging their partners mind, with a rare amount of them being able to kill people by frying their brain. Those who have it are referred to as 'Ardat-Yakshi'. Usually the condition is undetectable until adulthood, and can cause incidents such as deaths if not found before attempting a coupling, but the device my father had made was for detecting it earlier, in children, so the ones who have it can be singled out, and isolated to protect the lives of others. But she needed to test it, so she decided to use me as a control…"

"But you came up positive." said Marisa, after a pause.

Isika nodded sadly. "Very positive, I have the most extreme case possible, if I were to couple with someone, they would certainly die."

"I take it your parents didn't take it well." Marisa said as Isika had paused again.

"No. There was shouting, blaming, hushed conversations when they thought I wasn't listening. They didn't know what to do. Apparently Asari law is clear on what someone is to do with one with such a severe case. Either they are to spend the rest of their life in a secluded monastery with other Ardat-Yakshi, or… they must be executed by a Justicar."

Marisa frowned, "That sounds pretty rough treatment for a kid."

"My parents thought so too. They were talking about hiding me away, keeping me out of sight so no one would ever know, so they would never take me away."

Marisa simply nodded to continue.

"The thing is… I didn't want to just disappear. To me, that sounded the same as dying, or the monastery. I didn't want to just vanish without ever accomplishing anything. I always dreamed of being someone big, someone important and powerful. An Asari that the entire galaxy knew, Like a councillor, or a Spectre. I was never sure in what way I wanted to be special, but I always thought I was meant for big things."

"Not tucked away in some little hideaway for the rest of your life." Marisa concluded.

Isika nodded. "I ran away. I ran away and stowed away on a ship bound to the Citadel, I felt if there was anywhere I could become somebody, it would be there."

"And I guess that didn't happen." Marisa said.

Isika shook her head. "After a year of living in ducts and doing odd jobs for credits, I was considering just giving up, going home to hide in whatever hole my parents had made for me... Then the Alliance came."

Marisa smiled a bit at that.

"At first I was kind of scared, like everyone I guess. They had such big ships, and I heard all the horror stories from the returning soldiers, and Ambassador Flandre was pretty scary. But then I thought about it. If they are such monstrous, frightening people like everyone said, then maybe they, won't mind… me."

"So you came here looking for acceptance?" Marisa said.

Isika nodded.

"Do you still think we are monstrous and frightening?" Marisa asked.

Isika fervently shook her head. "No! you have all been really nice to me, you have all done more for me than anyone other than my parents. I could never-"

"Hey hey, calm down, no need to go overboard." Marisa said. "We know better than anyone that we can be more than a little monstrous. But monstrous does not equal heartless, something to remember. Now go on, is there anything more to your story?"

Isika nodded slowly. "Yes, but not much, After hearing about Reitaisai, I collected up as many credits as I could, and bought a ticket for the first day. At first I had decided to just come over and try my luck on an Alliance world, although once I got there I realised that would be nearly impossible. Being an Asari on a world with no Asari would draw a lot of attention, so I just resigned myself to wandering around the festival, where I met Ajū."

"But one thing that really interested me was the magic. There was so much of it all over the festival, and it was so bright and colourful, and it could do so many amazing things. And when I saw a magic duel right up close. I started wondering if that could be me, if I could be that amazing. I had finally worked out what kind of special I wanted to be, I wanted to be a Magician. So when they told me they were testing out Aliens for magical aptitude, I rushed over as quick as I could, and well… here I am."

"Yeah, here you are…" Marisa said, getting lost in thought.

"Marisa, can I ask you something?" Isika said after a moment.

"Hmm? Oh sure, shoot." Marisa said, returning from her train of thought.

"Why did you decide to help me?"

Marisa smiled a soft smile. "I guess I wanted to give you the same chance I was given."

"Oh yeah, I pegged you for a runaway from the moment I first saw you." Marisa said, chuckling at Isikas surprised expression. "You had that look in your eye, I thought that maybe you were a kindred spirit, I guess I was right, we really have a lot in common."

"We do?" Isika said.

"You bet, when I was your age… or at least equivalent, I was a runaway too. My dad didn't want me learning magic, so I ran off to learn it on my own. It was reckless, stupid, and it put my life in considerable danger. You know, like what you did, and are still doing."

Isika couldn't help but pout. "This was your idea you know."

Marisa laughed. "I know, I'm a bad influence aren't I? But anyway, I was a young girl, with only the most basic of magical training and living alone with a forest full of monsters, it was basically suicide. But I survived, against all odds I survived. And then someone came along and gave me the chance I'm giving you."

Marisa poked Isika softly on the forehead. "So chin up, this is gonna work, you hear? Because it worked for me. It's only fair, right?"

For some reason, these words did a lot to lift Isikas spirits. She giggled. "I don't think that's how it works."

"Maybe not." said Marisa. "But have a little faith. I may be crazy, but I know what I'm doing."

* * *

"Alright, now is everyone ready?" Eirin asked.

There was a general nodding of all assembled, being Marisa, the woman called Alice, and a purple haired girl with giant pointy fluffy ears.

"Good, now after I put her under, I will start working on her left hand, as I do so, I want you Reisen to monitor it for damage, especially internal hemorrhaging. Signal me to stop, and then fix it up as quick as possible, as this is what you will be doing with Alice, understood?"

"Yes Eirin-sama." Reisen said, nodding respectfully.

"And as for you Alice, we have already run through the procedure, but I want you to watch carefully, after I have finished two of her fingers, you will start on the the other two, and the thumb if we have time."

Very well." said Alice.

Eirin then turned to Isika. "Now I'm going to start sedating you. Since we will soon be putting you on life support, you will remain asleep for the rest of the procedure, should it be successful, the next time you wake up, you will be fully healed, and completely free of Element zero, do you understand?"

"Yes, Miss Eirin." Isika said, who knew all this already.

"Very good." said Eirin, and then she went pick to up the respirator mask from Isika's bedside.

"Well, see ya when you wake up kid." Marisa said, her usual smile on her face.

"Yeah, see you." said Isika, smiling back, before the mask was put over her face, and she slowly slipped into unconsciousness.


	5. Chapter 5 - The Pale Pre-magician

"...sika… Isika…"

"Mmmmmwuh…?" Isika murmured through the fog of her mind.

"Isika, are you with me now?" said a voice, it sounded familiar, almost like…

"Marisa…?" she mumbled.

"Yup, right here kid." Marisas voice said.

"Where are you… why can't I see?"

"Probably because you haven't opened your eyes."

"Oh yeah…"

…

"You gonna open them?"

"Oh right… that might help."

Isika's eyelids slowly lifted, flickering in the rooms dim light. To her left was Marisa, and she might have caught a glimpse of Alice to her right.

"Where… Wha…" Isika mumbled.

"Easy there, the stimulants are still kicking in. Take your time." Marisa said.

Isika stopped trying to talk, and just started looking around the room.

It was a new room again, it was small, but roomy. Isika was lying in a rather comfy bed. Marisa was sitting on a chair to her left, just watching her with a grin. Near the door, the girl with long ears, Reisen she vaguely remembers, was packing equipment into a suitcase. On her right was indeed Alice, who seemed to be tastefully arranging her various plush toys on various surfaces.

As her mental facilities slowly trickled back, she realised what this actually means. Isikas eyes slowly widen.

"It worked?" Isika said, in disbelief.

"Take a look for yourself." Marisa said, pointing to Isikas right hand, her grin widening.

Isika lifted her right arm, surprised that she could do it so easily. The last time she had seen it, it had been covered in scars and bandages, and it could barely move. Now it was pristine, without a scratch or blemish upon it, although her skin was a lot paler than she remembered, almost white, with only the slightest hint of blue.

"Yeah, you lost a lot of pigment colour during treatment, not sure if its because of the lack of Eezo, or just an unforeseen side effect…"

"So It really worked…" Isika said, her voice filled with wonder, excitement slowly driving out the grogginess.

"That it did." Marisa said. "Congratulations, you are now the first Eezo free Asari."

"Well, that's my job done." Reisen, said, closing up the case she had been packing and hoisting it up. "I'll be around the station for the next few days. Call me if there are any complications."

"Owe you one Reisen, thanks for the help." Marisa said, turning in her seat.

"I'll be holding you to that Marisa." Reisen warned playfully, "See you round."

Reisen left.

"I really did it… I lived!" Isika cheered, unable to contain the excitement. "I'm gonna become a Magician!"

"Hey I told you you would. Why are you so surprised?" Marisa said.

"Please, you were more worried than anyone, you were practically sleeping on the Wonderland." Alice interjected, a note of playfulness in her voice.

Marisa pouted. "I don't get worried Alice, you know that."

"Of course you don't Marisa." Alice teased, she picked up one of the plush toys from the bag. "Hey look, Marisa, she has one of you." She said showing off the 'Ordinary Magician' doll.

"Awww. That's pretty cute." Marisa said, her mood switching from pouty to playfull. "How long have you been fixing to be my Apprentice huh?"

"Ehh?" said Isika looked at the small grinning doll, then at the grinning Marisa. The clothes were different, but it was the same hue of blonde, and the grins seemed uncannily familiar…

"Huh… I'm surprised I didn't notice that earlier." Isika said, blushing. Embarrassed, as she had been bringing that one to bed.

"Yes, this outfit was back when Marisa was cute." Alice said, smiling, before putting it on an unoccupied bit of desk.

"Hey, are you saying I'm not cute now?" Marisa said, pouting again.

"Oh grow up." Alice said, shaking her head, but she was still smiling.

She sat down on Isikas right side. "Well now that you are awake, I suppose we should debrief you to the results of the treatment. Nothing to worry about, but there are a few things to go over."

"Ok." said Isika, a little bit nervous, but not very. The worst was now over after all.

"For a start, let me just confirm what you already know." Alice said, reading from her wrist-comp The Element zero has been purged from your body, and the damage caused by the treatment has been repaired. You are, as far as we can tell, a perfectly healthy Asari, minus the biotic ability."

"There has been an almost complete loss of blue Pigment, but this seems to have had little effect on your overall health. So unless you want it corrected, we would be content to leave it."

She looked up at Isika to check for her reaction.

"I'm… not really bothered, I think." Isika said, thinking about it. It was actually rather cool, she thought. It made her unique.

"Very well, let us know if it does." Alice said, before going back to her display. "Now during the healing process, along with repairing skin, tissue, organ damage, and muscle atrophy, We also had to replace the dead space in your nervous system caused by the loss of your biotic nodes, after some discussion, Marisa suggested replacing them with a similar construction but with silver instead of eezo. theoretically, this will make it easier to cast without a foci, and maybe ease the transition from biotics to magic in your mind. If not however, it should not cause any undue problems."

The mention of magic got Isikas heart fluttering. She had been so elated that she had got through treatment, that she had almost forgotten why she underwent the treatment in the first place. She was almost vibrating with excitement.

"I think this takes care of the medical side of things." Alice said, looking up from her tablet. "Just tell us if you start feeling unwell, or something starts hurting. Any questions?"

Isika opened her mouth, but Marisa cut her off. "Not about the magic, we will get to that in a minute."

Isika shut her mouth out of embarrassment, before another question came to mind. "How long have I been asleep?"

"About three months." Alice said.

"Woah." Isika said.

"Yes. Unfortunately I could not devote my whole day to treatment like Eirin could, so progress was slower, and your torso proved more difficult than the limbs." Alice said, "but that is in the past."

Isika hoped that Ajū wasn't too worried.

"But enough about that. Now onto the main event, Magic!" Marisa cheered.

Isika gave Marisa her full undivided attention.

"Now at first, we will be taking this slow, you are young after all." Marisa said, "Plenty of time to learn and make mistakes."

"Yes, and nothing to do with the fact that the council magic classes will be continuing for another seven months." Alice said dryly.

"Yup, completely coincidental." Marisa said without an ounce of shame. "Regardless, it works, because it will give you a chance to get to grips with the basics of magic at a nice relaxed pace, as well as do a little independent research so as to figure out what kind of magician you want to be."

"What kind?" Isika said.

"Yup." Marisa said, "Because just like Youkai, Magician is a blanket term…. As well as a type of youkai, but that's not important right now. You see, a Magician is someone who has mastered magic to some degree, but to what degree, what kind, and how they apply it can vary greatly."

Marisia deployed the the strange octagonal block on her wrist and it hovered above her open palm. "For example, as a Magician, I specialise in light and heat, but that's not all, you have probably heard my title of Ordinary Magician, but I am also referred to as 'The Love Coloured Magician' and the 'Spark Mage'. The Ordinary Magician title is a story for another day, but The love coloured Magician is because I fuel my most powerful magics with my own strong emotion, the more passionate I feel, the more power I can bring to bare. In fact my most powerful spell, my Master Spark, the reason for the last title, is ignited with a single spark of love as a catalyst. Just a little bit of passionate feeling to unleash a rainbow of pure love and destruction." The octagon landed in her hand, and a small pilot light ignited at its center.

"Woah…"

"Yeah, pretty cool huh?" Marisa said, the flame going out, and the Octagon returning to her wrist. "But it's not for everyone, like Alice for example."

Isika turned to Alice, who sighed and raised a hand.

At once the Ordinary Magician doll on the desk behind her stood up, and floated onto the bed in front of Isika, it then bowed and started a slow dance.

"As you know, my name is Alice, but my title is The Seven Coloured Puppeteer." she said as she moved her hand in time with the dancing toy, invisible strings attached to her rings occasionally catching the light. "While Marisas style is often as spontaneous as she is, my battles start weeks before in the workshop. I specialise in crafting, enchanting and controlling dolls." Another doll flew out from behind Alice, this one seemed to resemble a miniature Alice, but made of wood, ceramics, and in a cute lacy dress, that landed in front of the plush doll, where they bowed, and then started slow dancing with each other. Isika noticed that Alice didn't seem to be directly controlling that one with her hands.

Isika watched the waltzing dolls transfixed.

"While I can bring forth magical power in a similar way to Marisa, although not as directly powerful I'll admit, I far prefer more subtle and precise magics such as this. I am an artist, and magic is my medium."

"It's so pretty…" Isika said.

Alice smiled, "thank you."

The dance ended, and the Marisa doll returned to the desk, while the Alice doll disappeared behind Alice again.

"And there is more besides that." Marisa said. "Patchouli bases herself around the Elements of the Japanese week, fire, water, wood, metal, earth, sun, and moon."

"And Byakuren uses magic to enhance her body, improving her physical and sensory capabilities." Alice added.

"In short, It's all about style and specialisation." Marisa said. "While most magicians do keep a general skill set, what will set you apart from others is not how many forms of magic you know, but which ones you can do better than anyone else. Pick a style and run with it, that's what I say."

So that's what your first seven months are going to be." Marisa said, standing up, with her hands on her hips, "We are going to find your style. Once we know that, we can get into the serious training."

"Ok…" Isika said. Magic seemed a lot more complicated than she thought, although paradoxically she kinda expected that. Nothing to do but buckle down and give it her all. "OK!" she said with more conviction, her eyes burning with determination.

"But before we get started-" Marisa said, puncturing Isikas attempt to psych herself up, "You gotta sign these."

Isika looked down at the clipboard she was being handed. "Whats this?"

"Your citizenship papers." Marisa said, causing Isikas eyes to boggle.

"Well you do intend on staying right?" Marisa said to Isikas shocked expression. "Admittedly this isn't quite official, I had Flan whip this up a few days ago in a couple of hours, and you might need to sign a different one later on, but at least this way we got it on paper. Think of it as 'proof you exist'."

"Marisa, you cannot honestly tell me that this entire process was off record." Alice said.

Marisa put her finger to her chin in thought as Isika took the clipboard. "Well I think Eirin kept some, I'll have to ask her."

Alice massaged her temple. "Unbelievable."

"Ummm… Can I have a pen?" Isika said.

Marisa started patting her pockets, before looking imploringly at Alice.

"Unbelievable." Alice repeated, reaching into her pockets.

* * *

"So I just touch the ball?" Isika said.

"And hold your other hand out in front of you, with the palm up." Marisa said. "This will test your base magical Affinity, as well as checking if you have any Elemental affinities we can work with. Elemental magic is a good gateway into other magical studies, especially if you have a strong affinity right off the bat."

"Okay." Isika said, putting her hand on the sphere. There was a weird feeling from hand to hand. Alice and Marisa checked the console.

Marisa then smiled up at her. "Congratulations Isika!"

"What?" Isika said, excited.

"You are exceedingly average!" Marisa cheered.

"Huh?" said Isika, halfway between confused and disappointed.

"To be honest, it was better than we were expecting." Alice said. "Considering the amount of Eezo that was in your body, worst case scenario was no affinity whatsoever. This way, while it is nothing impressive, it is something we can work with."

"Oh, ok then." said Isika, she was still kinda disappointed, but at least it was better than nothing, perspective and all that.

"Alright then, let's test for elemental affinities." Alice said, "Don't close your left hand, or remove your right from the apparatus."

Isika nodded. Alice tapped away at the console, and a small ball of fire appeared above Isikas hand.

"Woah…" Isika intoned breathlessly, as the tiny ball of fire gave way to water, then dirt and stone.

While Isika was transfixed with the elements in her palm, Marisa and Alice watched.

"Hmm, not getting much of a reaction is she?" Alice said quietly, as the ball became wind.

"Well elemental magic isn't for everyone," Marisa mused, as the ball shifted to electricity. "I hope she at least has one though, it would be irritating if it turned out her affinity is spiritual, that would be just my luck."

"You can't rule out Omni, perhaps something close to her biotics would suit her, it might make it easy for her mind to grasp." Alice said, as it became metal.

"True, I'll have to check out if Patchy has any books on manipulating mass that I could bor- Damn, no light affinity." Marisa cursed under her breath.

"Of course, that would have been far too convenient…" Alice said but stopped when the element swapped again.

The small ball of light became a pitch black sphere the size of her head, that pulsed ominously.

"Woah! this one got big." Isika said.

Marisa got over her surprise and grinned. "Nice! that's a pretty impressive dark affinity you got there."

"Dark affinity?" said Isika. 'What's that?"

Alice turned off the machine, and the ball of darkness vanished. "Dark is the opposite of light, and therefore is everything Light is not. Whereas Light is heat, movement and energy, Dark is cold, stillness, and entropy. Dark is the magic of absence. It also one of the more difficult ones to utilize effectively in combat."

"That sounds… kinda cool." Isika said.

"Glad you like it," said Marisa, "because dark is the only elemental affinity you have."

"Eh?" Isika said.

"You registered low to average on all other elements." Alice clarified.

"Oh." said Isika, another small puncture in her self esteem.

"Ehh, don't worry about it, said Marisa. "You don't need to have an affinity to learn magic, it just makes it way, way easier, and remember, not all magic is elemental, this machine can't test for Omni or spiritual affinities, so you may have a few tucked away in those categories. Anyway, Dark will be the core of your magic tuition."

"Okay." Isika said, something was better than nothing after all, just stay positive, like Marisa.

"For now, Let's show you around the ship some more." Marisa said.

"Ship?" Isika said.

"Didn't I tell you?" Marisa said. "This is on board my ship, the Final spark, which for all intents and purposes, will be your home for the foreseeable future."

"Oh, right… wait what?" Isika said.

"Let's show you around!" Marisa cheered, leading Isika out the room, Alice following behind, shaking her head in amusement.

* * *

"Alright, this is the mess hall." Marisa said, gesturing across the empty room. "You will be eating your meals here, so get used to the space. Food is served on the far wall. Sit anywhere, but mind other people's personal space, magicians can be a touchy lot. If you are worried about upsetting people come sit next to me, I will be here at breakfast and dinner, lunch too if I'm not busy with something, like teaching aliens magic on the Philosophe."

Isika nodded, vaguely intimidated at the thought of this room filled with people.

"Mooooving on." Marisa said leading her out again, and further into the ship, Alice having gone to fetch something.

A brisk walk later, they arrived in a much larger room. It was a sort of oblong shape, with a tiered arrangement of chairs on the far wall. There was various lines across the floor, denoting some sort of boundaries, as well as some sections that look like they could rise to form walls or barriers. And near the roof there appeared to be some balconies, with more seating. And on the roof there seemed to be some arrangement of doors and hatches

"This is The Final Sparks Main practice hall. This is where a lot of practical lessons take place." Marisa said. Once more sweeping her hand across the space. "It's also a place for free practice, I imagine once you start getting to grips with magic, you will be using this space a lot. Be mindful of others though, this hall is likely to constantly be in use, either for practice, study or duels, as well as a place to hang out and socialise, as long as it doesn't distract the people practicing."

Isika looked around the room. For a place that apparently saw constant use, it was remarkably empty, there was only one person in the room, a vaguely familiar blue haired girl sitting in the stands reading something.

Now that she thought about it, the ship has been pretty quiet for a magical academy.

As Marisa led her back the way they came to the student habitation, Isika asked. "Why are there so few people?"

Marisa laughed. "So you noticed huh? As it happens due to me being tied up in teaching the general class over on the Philosophe, normal classes have been suspended. Most of the students have gone home until we resume normal activity. While the naval personnel are all still here, only the real dedicated students and teachers are still around, taking advantage of the place being practically empty. It works for you though, you basically get it all to yourself, about seven months to get used to the ship before it starts getting busy again."

"That makes sense I guess." Isika said, this made her feel slightly better about the whole situation.

"Now right there is your room, Oh-four-two, in case you didn't memorize it when we left." marisa said, pointing out the bedroom as they passed.

"Oh-four-two," Isika repeated, trying to remember.

"And here is your nearest rec-room." Marisa said, a door opening in front of her, to reveal a comfy looking room with an arrangement of couches and sofas, tables and chairs, spread haphazardly around the room. There was a large screen against one wall, with a shelf next to it. Many bookshelves are spread along the walls. "In your downtime you are free to use this space, to either relax or study, but once more bear in mind that other people use this space too."

"It looks pretty nice." Isika said.

"I believe that an important part of being a magician is knowing when to unwind and have fun." Marisa said. "Otherwise you end up with a stick up your butt."

"What?" Isika said, vaguely alarmed.

"Figure of speech." Marisa said, dismissively. "Let's get back to your room. Alice is probably back by now."

"What was Alice getting anyway?" Isika asked on the short walk back to her room.

"Well, we decided you need a good way of keeping in contact with us." Marisa said opening the door to Isikas room. "And that little datapad you had was really low tech, so we decided you needed an upgrade."

"You mean?-" Isika asked excitedly.

"Congratulations, Isika." Alice said, who was already in her room, handing her a device. "Your very own Wrist-comp."

* * *

Ajū, groaned, as a notification noise disturbed her light sleep. She had pulled an all nighter the night before and was still sleeping it off.

She fumbled for her Wrist-comp. And checked the display.

It was a message from Isika.

Suddenly very awake, she sat up and opened the message.

It was a picture, clearly taken from a Wrist comp, Of a very pale, but otherwise healthy-looking Isika beaming, with Alice and Marisa in the background, the latter doing a V sign.

Attached was the message. "I made it! Gonna be a Magician, just you wait!"

Ajū slowly smiled, the little knot of worry she had been holding for three months, slowly uncoiling.

"Thank the gods…"

* * *

 **Chapter Notes:**

 **She lives!**

 **And thus ends the first Arc of the story, but it only gets harder from here.**

 **At least she's not gonna be alone.**

 **Warning, due to the lack of available Mass Effect characters, and most cannon touhou characters being too old to be students, this story will be getting rather OC heavy. I hope this won't turn anyone off, but I thought it best to give fair warning.**

 **Plus did anyone catch the reference to Isika in the main story, I'm super happy about it!**


	6. Chapter 6 - Dreaming of Demons

**Important notice: Sorry, I was so tired that I actually posted chapter eight instead of chapter 6, please forgive me.**

 **As an apology, have Chapters, six seven and eight all at once!**

* * *

It was with some trepidation that Isika entered the mess hall the next day.

The furthest side of the room was fairly packed, with what Isika guessed was naval personnel. Marisa had said that despite the lack of students, the Final Spark was still a fully functional battleship, and had a full crew complement. The other side of the room however was very sparse, with only a few isolated islands of students, along with a couple of loners.

But before she could get too anxious, she spotted Marisa, who waved at her. Isika hurried over.

"Hey Ise. Sleep well? Marisa asked.

"Yeah, it was… Eese?" Isika said.

"Yeah, _Ise_. It's a nickname," Marisa said, "You want me to show you how to get food?"

After a brief moment, Isika came back with a large bowl of porridge, and a glass of orange juice. Marisa had gotten beans on toast.

"Itadakimasu," Marisa said, clapping her hands together, before eating.

"I-Itadakimasu," Isika copied Marisa before tasting her Porridge. It was surprisingly sweet.

"So anyway Ise," Marisa said, in between mouthfuls, "As we went through earlier. I won't be able to teach you full time, but that doesn't mean I'm just gonna leave you hanging. So here's how it's gonna work. Every morning I'm gonna run you through some exercises after breakfast, and or leave you some material to study. It's essentially going to be self motivated study, then after dinner, I will check up on you too see how well you are doing. Makes sense?"

"Umm, yes, I think so," Isika said.

"Good," Marisa said. "Sorry, I know this ain't perfect, but I sorta got my hands tied. You just gotta be a little patient with me."

"Alright." Isika said, nodding determinedly.

"Good morning Marisa." said a woman who floated up through the table in front of them.

"GAH!" Isika exclaimed, arms flailing as she fell backwards off the bench.

"Morning Meems." Marisa said casually, "Watch the kid, I think you gave her a heart attack."

"I'm ok, I think." Isika said, climbing back onto the bench.

"Sorry, couldn't resist a little spooking. You are the first alien I have met after all." the woman said setting down on Marisas other side. She was a tall woman, with green hair and pale skin, she wore an ornate blue dress, and a rather odd hat. Isika also noticed she didn't have legs, just a wispy tail that came out from underneath her dress. "My name is Mima, I am deputy headmistress of the Final Spark."

"She's also my old teacher," Marisa said. "A ghost in case you are wondering."

"Oh... ok," Isika said, nodding in understanding. "That makes sense."

"I take it you have encountered a ghost before?" Mima asked.

"Yeah, I met one at Reitaisai, she gave me a magic butterfly that showed me around." Isika said, "I also asked Aju about them, and she mentioned her name was Yuyuko."

"Woah, you ran into Yuyuko?" Marisa said in surprise, "I thought that butterfly looked familiar…"

"You know her?" Isika said. "Aju said that she was the princess of the netherworld."

"Yeah that's the one, she's a bit of a character." Marisa said, before grimacing. "She's also a close friend of Yukari. Excuse me for a minute."

Marisa got up, walked out the mess hall, before addressing the empty corridor.

"I know you are watching, I ain't got a problem with that. But she is _**my**_ apprentice, keep your dirty mitts off her, got it?"

Marisa turned back into the hall.

* * *

"Spoilsport," said Yukari, pouting from the comfort of Hakugyokurou.

"Don't let it bother you." Yuyuko said, fanning herself softly "It's not as if we had anything planned for her yet anyway."

* * *

When Marisa returned, Isika was talking with Mima.

"So Marisa," Mima said, as Marisa sat back down, "young Isika here told me that you have taken an apprentice."

"Haven't I already mentioned that?" Marisa said, taking another bite of toast.

"Unsurprisingly no, you have not," Mima said, crossing her arms. "Honestly Marisa…"

"Sorry Meems." Marisa said, rubbing the back of her neck with the free hand, "I guess I'm just not used to having you around again."

Mima sighed. "I guess it can't be helped, I was gone a long time…" She leaned forward and took a bite out of Marisa's toast. "I am here now though, so it would be nice of you to keep me informed."

"Hey, get your own breakfast," Marisa said indignantly.

"I'm a ghost, I don't need breakfast," Mima said.

"Then kindly don't eat mine!"

"But you are just so easy to tease!" Mima declared with a smirk

Marisa sighed. "Only for you Meems. But please try not to undermine me too much in front of my Apprentice."

"Very well, I'll restrain myself," Mima said. "But I do want to bring up something. "As I understand, your teaching time with her is rather limited."

"Mima…" Marisa said warningly.

"I'm not going to steal your apprentice Marisa, calm down," Mima said. "I was merely offering to watch her while you are busy, and help talk her through anything she has difficulties with. It will speed up her basic magic education significantly, and hopefully by the time you finish your obligations on the Philosophe, she will be ready for proper training."

Marisa thought about it. "That doesn't sound too bad actually. You sure you are up for it though? I mean that is a time investment, and Ise is a total beginner when it comes to magic."

"Please, it can't be any harder than training you," Mima said dismissively."And I've been bored stupid since the academy has gone on hiatus. I'd welcome a change of pace."

"In that case… Thanks Mima, I'd appreciate it!" Marisa said, grinning.

* * *

Marisa's study was a very strange room, about three stories tall with a comparatively narrow base, it was clearly designed for someone with as much vertical mobility as Horizontal. There were various balconies, shelves, bookcases, doors, workbenches, screens and consoles at almost seemly random placements up the walls. Wood panelling gave away to metal plating with no rhyme and reason, creating a strange mix of modern and archaic.

Unsurprisingly Marisa seemed right at home in the chaotic room, as she gestured to Isika to take a seat at a desk sitting conspicuously in the center of the floor. Isika suspected it had been put there for just this purpose.

"Now," Marisa said, clapping her hands as Isika sat down. "We are gonna have to start at the basics, and I mean the most basic of the basics. We are going to teach you how to feel magic, and eventually take it into your being."

Isika listened intently, eager to get started.

"Now, most Alliance citizens grow up around magic, so we barely notice it until we start actively using it," Marisa began."But for an Alien like you, it might be slightly stranger, and harder for your mind to grasp, and with your average affinity it might normally make it rather difficult to make a connection. Thankfully, the Final Spark might be the best place to get started for someone like you. Tell me, have you felt an odd sensation, one that you can't quite explain?"

Isika thought about it. "Well there has been an odd tingling feeling I've been feeling since yesterday, although I can't quite pinpoint where. I thought it had something to do with coming off the sedative. But now that you mention it, it hasn't gone away yet."

"Sounds about right. The Final Spark has about three times the normal amount of Magitech reactors for a ship of its classification, to power its main gun. Because of that, the ship's ambient magic is highly charged, that tingling is the magic brushing against your magically deprived senses." Marisa said. "Don't worry, once you master this exercise you will probably stop feeling it… eventually."

"So this is what magic feels like…" Isika said softly. "So what's the exercise?"

"Well, if you are ever going to be a magician, you need to be able to start taking that magic into yourself, infusing it into your body." Marisa said. "With that in mind, today will be taken up with Meditative and introspective exercises."

Mima snickered.

"What?" Marisa said, slightly indignant.

"Sorry, sorry. Just the thought of you of all people advocating Meditation and Self-reflection." Mima said, smirking.

"Well, it seemed to work for the other class…" Marisa pouted. "I thought I asked you not to undermine me?"

"Sorry, won't happen again," Mima said. "Carry on."

"Anyway." Marisa said, turning back to Isika. "Like I was saying, we are gonna have to teach you to look into yourself, in both mind and spirit, in order to find your core."

"Core?" Isika said.

"Like the center of your being, where your souls spiritual half and physical half meet. All magic is performed by mixing the energies of both the spiritual and physical soul. So in order to get started, we need to loosen the valve a bit, you get me?"

"I guess so…" said Isika. "So I find this through meditation?"

"Yeah, pretty much." said Marisa, "It worked for the other group, so I don't see why it shouldn't work for you."

"Alright." said Isika, "So where do we start?"

"Well, some breathing exercises would be a good start. Ok Listen up and I'll talk you through some before I have to go. Ready?"

Isika nodded enthusiastically, excited and eager to get started.

* * *

 _ **A few days later...**_

* * *

Isika was no longer excited.

"You know frustration is incredibly counterproductive." Mima said casually, being the exact opposite of helpful.

In fact she was downright annoyed.

"Hrrmmm…" Isika grumbled irritably, her closed eyes tightening.

"Relax your breathing, try and release some of that tension." Mima said slightly more helpfully.

Isika tried to do as instructed, but had very little luck, the barely perceptible tingling remained as is.

"Hmm, it's no good, I have the feeling we aren't going to be making much more progress this morning," Mima said.

Isika's eyes snap open "What? No! I mean, but I can keep going." she pleaded.

"Like I said, you're too frustrated. This exercise isn't going to work. You've got an hour until lunch, go to the rec room and blow off some steam." Mima said, putting a hand on her hip.

"But, but-"

"No buts, go and relax," Mima said. "You aren't going to improve in your current state."

Isika grumbled, getting out of her chair and stalking out.

Mima sighs after Isika left. "I wonder if this is even the right approach…"

Isika on the other hand was brooding to herself as she marched down the hallway.

Her brooding became less pronounced as she passed a group of ship personnel, self-consciousness downgrading it to a minor sulk.

This meditation stuff turned out to be a lot harder than Marisa made it out to be. And despite having spent about three days on it, she felt like she had actually gotten worse than when she started.

Mima was probably right though, she was incredibly annoyed, and it was obviously affecting her meditation. A more reasonable part of her mind knew this. The rest just wanted to be annoyed.

Was there really no other way to do this? She resolved to ask Marisa at dinner.

Isika wrinkled her brow. But would that be rude? She didn't want to really offend Marisa, she had done so much for her after all.

She walked into the rec-room, so deep in thought that she didn't notice the girl lying in the middle of the floor until she tripped over her.

"Wah!" Isika exclaimed, before landing face first in the mercifully soft carpet.

"Ow." came the toneless response of the unknown girl, her voice muffled by lying face down in a large pillow.

"Ow." Isika agreed, rubbing her head. "Are you alright?"

"I'll manage." Came the response, still muffled.

Isika crawled off the girl, and sat up, still rubbing her head. She looked down at the other girl, who had yet to move. She was just as short as Isika, if not shorter, with messy knee-length reddish black hair. She wore an oversized hoodie, that went halfway down her thighs and totally hid her hands in her sleeves, and from the angle it was hard to tell if she wore anything underneath it. It was tented at the back with a long thin spaded tail, that swayed lazily back and forth in the air.

Isika watched for a moment longer, until she realised the girl wasn't getting up, or making any attempt to move from her position of face down on the floor. "What are you doing?"

"Napping," came the response.

"In the middle of the floor?"

"Yeah."

...

"...Why?"

"Cuz it felt like a good idea at the time."

A bit of Isika's irritation resurfaced. "You do know you are a tripping hazard lying there."

"Your foot made me intimately aware of that fact," came the response.

"... So are you gonna move or not?" Isika asked.

The girls head finally lifted, revealing an untidy fringe, listless eyes, and a deadpan expression. "Why's it matter?"

Isika simply stared for a moment. "Because you might hurt someone!" she exclaimed.

"Unlikely. I've been using this spot for about a week. This part of the ship is pretty empty right now, so not many people come in here. Perfect for naps."

"But… couldn't you at least nap away form the door?" said Isika, getting exasperated.

The girl groaned, and lifted herself off the floor… Literally, floating into the air, hugging her pillow to her cheek. "Alright already, just stop bugging me."

She floated away and landed on a different piece of floor, sprawling with a complete lack of grace.

Isika huffed before sitting down on one of the couches. And got back to the brooding she had been doing before tripping over the strange girl.

After a few minutes of silence, the girl surprisingly spoke. "So what's your beef? You seem kinda pissed about something."

"My what?"

"Your beef. you know, something to eat? what's eating you?" The girl explained

"It's nothing really." Isika said, suddenly feeling self conscious.

"It doesn't feel like nothing to me, I can sense your irritation from over here." the girl said.

"Sense?" said Isika, curiosity overtaking her once more.

"Most demons of sin are low level empaths, it sorta comes with the territory. And I'm pretty good at it."

"A… Demon of Sin?" Isika said.

"S'pose I might as well introduce myself. Names Desida, a Sloth demon. I embody the sin of sloth.

"I'm Isika, an Asari I guess. So... you are a demon of lazy?" Isika asked, wondering if her translator is working right. She made a mental note to ask Marisa if she could start learning one of the alliance languages.

"Fits don't it?" Desida said. "But yeah, I can sense your funk, its kinda like a prickly sensation, only in the air around you. It's really kinda distracting. Wanna talk about it?"

"You want to hear about my problems?" Isika asked sceptically, wondering why she would care.

"Why not? Can't hurt." Desida said. "I take it you are one of the aliens Marisa has been teaching magic to? Then again, if you are, not sure what you are doing on the Final Spark."

"I'm not part of that class… I'm Marisa's new apprentice." Isika admitted.

"No kidding?" Desida asked, if she was surprised it didn't show on her face. "Guess that explains it. Although isn't Marisa teaching the other class right now?"

"Yeah, she's only teaching me part time right now. At least until she's finished with the Philosophe class."

"I guess that's a good enough reason to be frustrated." Desida said.

Isika shook her head. "No it's not that… well not entirely, but its not whats bothering me."

Desida cocked her head.

"You see, I haven't got magic yet, so they have me performing meditation exercises to try and bring the magic into me. I'm not really having much luck in that regard though," Isika explained.

"How long have you been doing it?" Desida asked.

"'Bout three days." Mumbled Isika.

"Doesn't sound too bad to be honest." Desida said. "But I guess it's pretty frustrating, huh?"

"Yeah." Isika said. Desida was proving to be very easy to talk to. "I've been trying my hardest, but I can't seem to 'take the magic into my core', in fact I'm not even sure how, they have been incredibly vague about it."

"Well when you get right down to it, magic is incredibly vague. I suppose that isn't much help either, is it?"

"Not really." Isika grumbled.

Desida was silent for a minute, just staring up at Isika. Before saying. "You want help?"

"Help?" Isika said.

"I mean I don't know much about teaching aliens magic, but I know a bit about relaxing." Desida said. "It's kinda my thing."

Isika just stared blankly.

"You got any better ideas?" Desida said.

"Well, Mima sent me here to relax anyway." Isika said. "What do you think I should do?"

Desida lifted a hand, and with a puff of pink smoke, another pillow appeared beside her. "Well for a start, lay down."

"Eh?" Isika said.

"Come on, the floor is comfy. If you want to relax, best to do it lying down." Desida said.

Isika decided to follow along, as at this point, she was willing to try anything. She lay down next to Desida, feeling rather silly while doing it.

"Ok, now relax." Desida said.

And surprisingly Isika did just that. All tension suddenly left her body, as she was infused with a sudden overwhelming calm. She found herself subconsciously snuggling into her pillow.

"So you are having trouble finding your core? Let's have a look." Desida said, as Isika's eyes started to droop.

* * *

Isika was made aware of an all encompassing blackness, she felt frightened for a moment before another wave of calm flowed over her.

She doesn't know how, but she was made aware of Desida floating next to her. "What's going on?" Isika asked.

"Consider this demon assisted meditation," Desida said. "I've put you in a dreamlike state and infiltrated your psyche."

"I feel like I should be far more concerned about what you just said," Isika said.

"Probably, but I'm keeping you calm so you don't accidentally break the spell," Desida explained in a bored tone.

"Why are you doing this?" Isika asked.

"Like I said, I'm helping," Desida said. "Now let's get going… Or more accurately you get going, this is your mind after all."

Isika looked around at the blackness. "Where am I going exactly?"

"Don't know, your mind, not mine," Desida said. "Try and focus on going inwards, maybe that will help."

"If I knew how to do that, I wouldn't need help in the first place," said Isika with a small spike of annoyance, before it was smoothed over by the calm.

"In that case, just pick a direction. Wander around long enough and you'll eventually run into something," Desida said, shrugging.

"You know, I really wish I could be annoyed at you right now." Isika said.

"Noted. Feel free to bring it up afterwards if this doesn't work," Desida said.

Isika sighed, and started walking.

"That's the spirit." Desida said, in her unchanging deadpan.

While walking, she slowly became aware of a strange tugging notion somewhere to the left, that became steadily stronger as she walked. She changed direction and went towards it.

"Oh, feel something?" Desida asked, who from Isikas perspective hasn't really moved, but is still floating besides her.

"Yeah, a sort of pulling feeling. Is that what we are looking for?" Isika asked.

"Search me, I've never done this before." Desida said, shrugging again.

"You're a lot of help." Isika said dryly.

"Hey this is further than you've gotten so far right?" Desida said.

"I guess so…" Isika trailed off as the darkness started fading.

She came to a stop as she surveyed her new surroundings. It was a place she hadn't set foot in for over a year and a half.

"Pretty ritzy, this your place?" Desida said, looking around.

"Was." Isika said.

Indeed, this was the living room of Isikas childhood home, a fairly upscale apartment in the city of Caava on Thessia. Everything was exactly as she remembered it, from the weird paintings her mother used to collect, to the Caavan skyline out the window.

But for some reason, instead of feeling comforted by the familiarity, she felt uneasy, the perspective felt slightly skewed, and the shadows seemed unnaturally deep. On top of that, two indistinct shadowy silhouettes occupied the space, one on the couch, perhaps reading something, the other at the kitchen counter, working on some unseen meal.

She shuddered. "Why are we here?"

"Your mindscape probably created this from your memory." Desida said. "Which direction is your room?"

"Why do you ask?" Isika said.

"I thought we might find your core there." Desida said. "Your mindscape conjured your home, so maybe your core will be the place you find most familiar."

"Alright, it's the one on the end." Isika said.

"You gotta open the door, I can't open it for you. Your mind remember?" Desida said.

"Right, right." Isika said making her way to the door.

She reached out for the door interface, but hesitated, feeling a spike of uneasiness again before being washed away by Desida's overwhelming chill.

"You ok?" Desida said.

"I don't know." Isika said, before pressing the interface, the door opening automatically.

The room once more was just as she left it, clothes on the floor, random clutter, the game system on the shelf. But it was also wrong, the perspective was even more skewed, and the shadows even deeper.

Isika shuddered again.

"I've been getting the feeling for a while, but you really aren't happy to be home are you?" Desida said.

"I kinda left in a hurry." Isika mumbled. "And not in the happiest of circumstances."

"I see." Desida said. "I guess this isn't a safe place for you anymore, that's probably why your core isn't here."

"You know, for someone who doesn't know what they are doing, you seem to know an awful lot about what we are doing." Isika said.

"Call it educated guesses." Desida said. "Anyway, why don't you try the wardrobe?"

"The Wardrobe?"

It's a door after all, maybe it will lead somewhere interesting." Desida said.

Isika sighed. "I really don't get you."

"I'm really not that complicated." Desida said.

"Says you." Isika said, opening the door.

Instead of being greeted with clothes on shelves, she was greeted with darkness. Slowly the room dissolved into blackness.

"Wha?" Isika intoned.

Slowly a new space faded in.

It resembled the ducts of the citadels… barely. The angles were warped and bent, twisting off into the distance, the shadows were scars of impenetrable black, indistinct shadowy silhouettes occasionally past where they stood, most of them a similar size to Isika.

Isika repressed a full body shudder, for now very grateful for Desida's calming influence.

"Where is this?" Desida said.

"The Citadel. Some of the maintenance ducts. I lived here for a year after running away. a lot of kids did." Isika said.

"This definitely doesn't feel like a safe space." Desida said.

"It never was." Isika said.

"Where not likely to find the core here, but let's look around anyway." Desida said. "At the very least it might lead somewhere else."

"Are minds always this strange?" Isika asked as she walked along.

"Some more, some less." Desida said. "But it wouldn't be completely accurate to refer to this place as the mind, it has more to do with your spirit, then the squishy organ in your head… Your brain is in your head right?"

"Why wouldn't it be?" Isika said.

"Don't know, thought that Asari might have their brains somewhere else." Desida said. "Anyway, this is more an expression of the self. The places you have been, the people you have seen, the things you know, things that have shaped you as an individual. It will probably get weirder the further you go down the path of a magician."

"What's yours like?" Isika asked.

"...Fluffy, and soft." Desida said.

"Really?" Isika said, cocking her eyebrow.

"I'm not that complicated." Desida said, despite her voice not changing, Isika got the feeling she was disavowed from inquiring further.

They come up to a very steep incline, caused by the warped dimensions.

"What now?" Isika said.

"Climb I guess." Desida said.

"I swear I've had nightmares like this." Grumbled Isika.

"Very likely," said Desida.

As Isika sized up the climb, she caught sight of a strange shadow at the top, it looked vaguely Asari, Far more distinct than the ones she had seen so far, and seemed to be peering down. But before she could get a better look, it withdrew.

"What was that." Isika asked Desida.

She shrugged. "You tell me, remember-"

"Yes yes, my mind." Isika said irritably, "Well help me up. I don't know why but I got a feeling we shouldn't let it get away."

"Your wish." Desida said, floating up, and dropping her tail down like a rope. "Don't do this in real life by the way, my tail is sensitive."

"Okay?" Isika said, eyeing the appendage strangely, before grasping it.

"Upsy daisy." Desida said, lifting her tail and pulling a surprised Isika right up the incline.

"WAH," Isika exclaimed, before landing face first on the top. "Ow."

"Get up you're fine, you can't get hurt in your own soul." Desida said.

"Are you really that strong?" Isika said, picking herself up.

"Consciousness doesn't weigh anything." Desida said simply.

"Right…" Isika said, not sure if that was dodging the question or not. She looked around, there was a three way intersection. "Where do you think it went?"

"Where do you think it would go?" Desida said.

"Really?" Isika said.

"Well…"

"I get it I get it." Isika said, sighing. "Seriously why are you even here?"

"Hey, somebody's gotta maintain the spell." Desida said.

"We'll go left then, that's where I used to sleep." Isika started walking.

"Sure thing boss." Desida said, floating behind her.

Isika as no idea what to think of her strange benefactor, in fact she was starting to wonder if Desida was just screwing with her.

* * *

"Wow, this is… humble."

"I was homeless, what were you expecting?"

Isika's 'abode' if you could call it that, was nothing more then the terminus to this particular vent. The only thing separating it from the hustle and bustle of the citadel was a large grate and a ten meter drop. She had shared it with about four other kids, two turians, another asari and an elcore, They could see their shadows wandering around the space. The bit that was Isika's was huddled in a little corner, a few blankets and a backpack, which represented everything she could bring with her from home, what little she didn't sell off for credits that is.

"Still, for kids to be living here… Seems rough." Desida said.

"You don't know the half of it." Isika said, shudding.

"You seem to be doing that a lot, are you sure you wanna keep this up? We can stop if you are getting uncomfortable." Desida said.

"No lets keep going, compared to being there it's nothing." Isika said.

Unspoken is the fact that if Isika does back out, all this would have been for nothing.

Isika looked around, trying to find the shadow they had been trying to follow. But saw no sign of it.

She sighed. "It looks like we lost it-"

Then she saw it peering around the corner of the maintenance hatch.

"Hey, er… You." Isika said, but it withdrew again. "Wait!"

Isika ran out, but came to a sudden stop at the precipice, of what should have been a ten meter drop down into the street, but what was an endless fall into a black abyss.

"Oops," said Desida, as she pushed Isika over the edge.

Isikas initial fear was smothered by Desidas calm, but even then she felt like screaming as she fell into the dark.

With a sudden jolt ,she found herself sitting in a desk in Marisas study.

"Wha..?"

"Huh, I guess you weren't lying about the apprentice part." Desida said, floating down. "Not that I had any reason to doubt you, but still."

"Why did you do that?" Isika said irritably.

"To save time, you wanted to chase that thing didn't you?" Desida said. "Sides, you can't get hurt in here remember?"

"Fine, fine." said Isika, getting up, and looking around.

While this was clearly Marisas study, it was vague, slightly sketchy, in fact the further she looked up, the less detail the room had, until it was just a wash of white. However the deep shadows that persist in the rest of her dreamscape were absent.

"Why is it so… vague?" Isika asked.

"Well how long have you been on the Final Spark?" Desida asked.

"About four days." Isika said.

"Well there you have it, this place is constructed from memory. You haven't been here that long so of course the details are sketchy." Desida said, "After all, how often do you look at the ceiling?"

"Makes sense I guess," Isika said.

Isika stepped out of the study and looked up and down the hall.

"I'm honestly surprised," Desida said.

"About what?" Isika asked.

"Well it's so cozy and bright here," Desida said. "You really do feel safe on the Final Spark don't you?"

Isika looked down, hiding a blush. "Well, Marisa… n' pretty much everyone… They have all been so nice to me," She mumbled. "And the thought of learning magic… makes me really happy."

"You're very honest aren't you?" Desida stated, making Isikas blush deepen.

Then Isika caught a glance of the shadow figure again, standing out clearly in the brightness of the room, it was definitely an Asari, and it looked to be her height. It turned and ran.

"Wait, come back!" Isika called out, giving chase.

But the figure didn't stop, it kept almost perfect pace with her, speeding up when she did, and slowing down when she slowed down. Isika lost sight of it when it rounded a corner. Rounding the corner herself, she found herself in one of the habitation wings, the dark shadow nowhere to be seen.

"Lost you huh?" Desida said, still floating beside her.

"Yeah…" Isika said. "I suppose there is no point in asking you about it is there?"

"Well, you could try looking in your room." Desida said, pointing it out.

"How did you know what was my room?" Isika asked.

"Well it's the only one with a number on it for a start." Desida said.

Isika looked, and indeed, the door to her room was much sharper and well defined then the doors next to it, it's numbers displayed proudly, probably due to constant use.

"You really need to work on your observation skills, in more ways than one." Desida said.

"Right," Isika said, blushing again.

As the door opened, she came face to face with the shadow, and from this close up, it looked an awful lot like her.

She darted forward, but the shadow vanished into particles.

"Dammit." Iiska swore. "What is that?"

"Your core, most probably." Desida said.

"Oh… what?" Isika said turning to Desida.

"Your core. You know, the thing we were looking for?" Desida said.

"But, but that's the core?" Isika exclaimed. "But why is it moving around, and why does it look like… well me?"

"No one said anything about the core being stationary, nor what it looks like, that can differ from person to person. Yours just happened to be more narcissistic than most."

"But then… why is it running away?" Isika asked desperately.

"At my guess… it's that your spirit is in shock." Desida said.

"Shock?"

"From what I've seen, you went through at least two massive life changes in the past year and a half, maybe more. After living what looks like an extremely comfortable life, you were forced to run, and spend a whole year without a proper home. You now have somewhere you can feel safe, but your spirit has yet to recover, its restless, and flighty. It cannot settle, most probably because you yourself have not settled."

"...ehh?" Isika said, too stunned for words.

"Focus. If you cannot center yourself, how will you ever reach your center?"

"Wh-what do I do?" Isika said, finding her tongue.

"You have to calm your restless spirit, give it a place to settle." Desida said, "then maybe it can open up to you."

"But what does that mean!" Isika said.

"If you can't work that out here of all places, then I'd worry about your future." For the first time since Isika met her, Desidas expression changed, becoming a smirk. "Its your mind after all."

Desida then dissolved into mist.

"Wait, don't go!" Isika called out. But it was no use, Desida was nowhere to be seen.

Isika sat down, on the bed trying to puzzle through Desidas words.

"Center myself, center," Mumbled Isika.

She didn't get it, the whole point of this exercise was to find her center, Only now she finds out her center doesn't like staying put, so now she has to 'center' herself?

Then she recalls something Desida had said earlier, when they were in her room. ' _I guess this isn't a safe place for you anymore, that's probably why your core isn't here'_

So would that have been her center, if none of this had ever happened?

"Give it a place to settle…" Once more she repeated Desidas words.

She looked around the room, the room that Marisa had given her, all her little plushies, her bed, her old datapad on the desk, the clothes in the wardrobe. It wasn't anything as nice as the home back on Thessia, but it was hers.

"But for how long?" Isika mumbled.

She was just a student after all. Marisa's Apprentice. Was this really hers, or was she simply borrowing it?

' _It cannot settle, most probably because you yourself have not settled'_

That was what Desida had said, so maybe it was that kind of thinking that is holding her back?

"Center myself…" Isika said again.

' _Why do I feel safe here?_ ' She wasn't sure where the thought came from, but it felt important.

Her eyes felt drawn to the desk, specifically to the ordinary magician doll, supposedly Marisa in her youth.

Marisa was a strange woman, strong, happy go lucky, brimming with confidence, here and gone in a flash. But she had seen something in Isika that no one else had, had given her a home, and a dream to strive for, as well as the ability to follow through with that dream.

Isika picked up the doll, sitting it on her lap. In the short time she had known her, Marisa had done more for her then anyone else.

But most importantly…

The door opened, isika looked up.

Her center was back, but this time it was accompanied by another apparition, and unlike all the others this one was all in white, with a big pointy hat not unlike the doll she was holding, and though she couldn't see it, she could tell it was grinning. It hand a hand on the centers shoulder.

Isika stood up and walked forward, until it was face to face with her center. She lifted her hand, just as the center did the same.

* * *

Isika sat bolt upright, panting. She held a hand to her chest, to try and steady her heartbeat.

"You ok?"

Isika looked down to Desida, whose deadpan had returned, and was snuggling into her pillow.

"You did just have one of the most intense magical in-body experiences it's possible to have, so it might have knocked the wind out of you a bit." Desida said.

"Wha-wha…" Isika said in between breaths, although she still haven't worked out what she was going to ask.

"Congrats by the way." Desida said.

C… congrats?" isika asked.

"You managed to get in touch with your center, didn't you?" Desida asked. "Feel any different?"

Isika focused on calming down her breathing, did she feel any different?

The tingling feeling was there, but now it felt… stronger, and it felt like it was inside, rather than outside, she wonders…

She concentrated really hard, trying to flex the mental muscles that once controlled her barely used biotics.

Slowly, ever so slowly, she felt the tingling feeling travel up her arm, until it reached the tips of her fingers. Nothing happened, but it was there.

Magic.

Her Magic.

Excitement erupted like a volcano.

"Ow!" said Deisda, clutching her head. Before she was picked up bodily and hugged with bone crushing force.

"I have magic! I have magic! ThankyouThankyouTHANKYOU!" Isika said, Twirling, taking the hapless Demonette with her.

"Yeah, yeah, really happy for you, now please quit the emotional fireworks, I think I'm going flash-blind." Desida said, looking queasy.

"This is wonderful." Isika declared, too caught up in her own euphoria to notice. "Ohh I gotta go tell Mima!"

She dropped Desida and ran for the door. "Thanks again, bye!"

Desida landed on her rump, and watched the spot were Isika had been standing, before sighing. "Weird kid."

She lay down again, snuggling in her pillow.

After a couple of minutes of sleep, she became aware of a bubbling cauldron of cold fury standing above her.

She looked up to see Mima standing above her, looking anything but impressed, a nervous Isika was hovering somewhere behind her.

"Desida… A word." Mina said, a dangerous look in her eye.

* * *

In an apartment on the Thessian city of Caava, one that a certain Demonette described as 'Ritzy', an Asari woman stood staring longingly out the window.

Her eyes were tired and weary, like the hadn't slept in a long time, and she sighed as she studied the skyline.

Her eyes drifted down to the small picture in her hands. Only a year and a half had passed, and it already felt like she had aged a millennia.

"Come on," Her partner called to her from the door, "we don't want to be late, this man is a professional, it would not do to keep him waiting."

"Coming." The woman said, joining her partner, still clutching the picture.

Her partner noticed. "We will find her, I swear we will."

"Thankyou." the woman said, even now after hearing it so many times, it still gave her some reassurance, however small.

Her Partner however, was more resolute. ' _No matter what happens, I promise I will find you… Isika.'_

* * *

 **Chapter note:  
And there we meet the first OC Character, Desida the Sloth Demon, (although those who were privy to my blunder already met her :P)**

 **Or as myself and Touhoufanatic refer to her: 'best girl'**

 **Desida is a lot of fun to write.**


	7. Chapter 7 - Mima's not Mellow, Marisa is

**Important notice, Sorry, I was so tired that I actually posted chapter eight instead of chapter 6, please forgive me.**

 **As an apology, have Chapters, six seven and eight all at once!**

* * *

"Of all the dangerous, irresponsible, downright reckless… Argh!" Mima fumed from a few feet away from where a bored Desida, and a mortified Isika kneeled penitently.

"Calm down Meems, she didn't know any better." Marisa said from one of the couches, seemingly amused.

Mima visibly tried to calm down. "That's right, she didn't know any better, she didn't know any better…" She repeated like a mantra.

"What did I do wrong?" Isika asked, with embarrassed tears forming in her eyes.

"Don't worry, Mima's just blowing this out of proportion," Marisa said dismissively. "She is a vengeful spirit after all, she tends to get pissed off about a lot of things."

"This is hardly out of proportion Marisa!" Mima snapped at her former pupil.

"Can I go now?" Desida said, raising her hand.

"No!"

"Worth a shot," Desida said.

"It really wasn't," Marisa snickered.

"But what did I actually do!?" Isika wailed.

"What you did, was something incredibly dangerous. You just engaged in a non-binding verbal agreement with a demon!" Mima declared.

"...Eh?" Of all the things Isika was dreading, that was certainly not it.

"I think you might need to elaborate Meems," Marisa said.

Mima Massaged her temples. "It might surprise you to find out, but most youkai are not particularly helpful as a rule. In fact many youkai can be downright nasty if they think they can get away with it. From mean spirited pranks to kidnapping and homicide, and everything in between. And when it comes to dangerous youkai, Demons are on the top of that list."

Isika looked over to Desida. Who yawned and rubbed the back of her neck.

Her scepticism must have been showing because Mima added. "There are exceptions of course, Desida being a significant one. But it doesn't change the fact that demons can be incredibly dangerous, they live in hell for a reason. And not only did you take a nap next to a _sloth demon_ , but you also basically **invited one into your head!** " Mima took a moment to cool herself down again.

"I-is it really that bad?"

"Well worst case scenario, you could have never woken up again," Marisa said conversationally, making Isika blanch. "Don't worry, like Mima said, Desida's an exception, I wouldn't let anyone genuinely evil learn on the Final Spark. I consider myself a pretty good judge of character, and Desida is too lazy to have any ill will for anyone."

"She gets me," Desida said, making deadpan finger guns.

"I seriously doubt you had no ulterior motives," Mima said.

"Well, since we are on the topic, can I get extra credit for this?" Desida asked.

Mima facepalmed, while Marisa tried to repress laughter.

"You know what? I'll think about it," Marisa said. She stood up and walked over. "But seriously while Mima is overreacting, it is important to know that people in the Alliance can be just as mean if not meaner than anyone from the citadel, especially some species of youkai. You are safe on board, but just remember to be a little guarded. Try to be a little sceptical of strangers, and if you are not sure, just contact me, Mima, Alice, or even Aju, we can set you straight."

"Alright, I think I get it," Isika said.

"Good girl," Marisa said, petting her on the head. "Just consider this part of your training. A magician shouldn't take things at face value."

"Okay," Isika said.

"Anything else you should be telling her Marisa?" Mima asked expectantly.

"Oh yeah. Good job on getting your magic going!" Marisa said, crouching down and slapping Isika on the back.

"That's not what I was going for," Mima grumbled.

"Ehh, I can't be bothered disciplining her for taking a shortcut. To be honest I was getting pretty impatient myself. Meditation is not really my thing," Marisa said. "I was this close to just feeding her mushrooms until she had magic pouring out of her ears."

"Um, what?" Isika said, wondering if she should be concerned.

"Yeah, not the most elegant solution, but it gets results," Marisa said, shrugging. "Desida's solution works too though, and probably saved you a stomach ache. Good work Desida."

Desida, who had laid down again when everyone had stopped looking, gave a thumbs up.

"So… I did good?" Isika said, still wondering what she should be taking away from this.

"Just roll with it," Marisa said, pulling Isika to her feet, "Well since you have access to magic now, and Patche let me off early, How bout I go and teach you some simple magic?"

"Yes Please!" Isika exclaimed, her eyes sparkling.

Excellent!" Marisa said, walking out of the room, Isika in tow. "I think for starters let's see if you can manifest a bullet…"

Mima watched them go, and massaged her temples again. "Oh god, I just realised, by the time this is over there are going to be two Marisa's running around aren't there?"

* * *

Marisa, Isika and Mima now stood in the practice Hall, once more basically empty, besides the Blue haired girl in the stands, who had paused in her reading to regard them at a distance.

"Now I am going to teach you one of the most basic abilities a magician should have, the ability to manifest power," Marisa said confidently, hands on hips, Isika hanging on every word.

She lifted her right hand, and a large yellow white ball appeared above it. "Now this is a bullet, the most basic magical construct you would ever be called upon to make. Its most common use is in magical duelling of the Danmaku variety. Think fast!"

Before Isika could react, Marisa flicked the ball at her and it impacted her shoulder. She yelped as she felt a small spike of pain centered on the impact, almost like an electric shock but not quite. But it was gone as quickly as it came, and she found herself looking down to see no visible damage, even her clothes were unaffected.

"What was that for?" Isika pouted, more confused than anything.

"Just keeping you on your toes, but mostly to show you what a Bullet felt like. It hurt right?"

Isika nodded.

Marisa nodded as well. "Yup, they hurt, but not much, and not for long. and that's what a bullet is for. In short they are to make sure a person knows they've been hit, but not enough to debilitate them in the duel. In Danmaku, most folks will be throwing around hundreds, if not thousands of these at once." Marisa said, lifting her hand in the air, and spraying a fountain of multicoloured bullets into the ceiling.

Isika wondered if she would ever get tired of seeing Marisa perform magic, she doubted it somehow.

Marisa cancelled the stream and brought her hand back to her hip. "For you however, just one will be sufficient. As a training exercise, this will be teaching you how to control your magic, and manifest it outside yourself in useful ways. Plus, the sooner you master bullets, they sooner we can start playing a bit of Danmaku. It is one of the Alliances most popular pastimes after all. I'm one of the best there is, and I'll be damned if any student of mine isn't becoming a pro."

"Ok…" Isika said, for the first (but not the last) time, starting to feel a bit of pressure from being Marisas apprentice.

"Eh, don't be like that, it's fun!" marisa exclaimed with a smile, "sides, we got months to get you ready, and like I said, for now, just one is fine. And just like the meditation thing, no rush. You'll figure it out when you figure it out. We are moving at your pace, not mine."

"Thanks," Isika said, smiling awkwardly.

"No problem, just remember, as your master I reserve the right to poke you if you start slacking," Marisa said, smiling her signature cocky grin.

Isika laughed nervously.

"Well no point lollygagging, let's get started!" Marisa said, she held her hands out in front of her, like she was holding a ball. "For starters hold your hands out like this."

Isika did as instructed, copying Marisas pose.

"Now, Draw out your power, draw it into your hands, and will it into shape, we are focusing on making the bullet itself, we can make it hurt later."

"Draw out my power," Isika repeated, looking down at her hands.

"Like you did before, only now bring it outside of your body, and make it visible," Marisa instructed. "Go on, give it a shot."

Isika took a deep breath and closed her eyes. Unlike before Desidas intervention, the magic responded easily. It was rather sluggish at first but she could feel the prickling up her arms and the ends of her finger tips. She attempted to do as Marisa told, to try and draw the power out.

It was resisting, but she was just as stubborn. She didn't quite know how long she stood there, the prickling at her fingertips ebbing and flowing, becoming numb under the sensation.

"Well… would you look at that!"

At Marisa's words, Isika opened her eyes. Dancing around her fingers, little smoky wisps of darkness coated her hands.

"It's not much, but it's a start," Marisa said. Contrary to her words, she was beaming.

* * *

In a small cafe in an upscale part of Caava's commercial district, a lone drell sat in a private booth, calmly sipping a drink, waiting on his new clients. His handler had been sparing with the details, clients wishing to brief him personally. Apparently it was not his usual sort of assignment, but his handler suggested he hear them out.

It was also rather unusual to get an assignment on Thessia. Even when dealing with Asari, business tended to be conducted on planets like Illium, or at the very least in some of the quieter parts of the citadel.

Needless to say, he was curious.

He was joined in her booth by two Asari that, from his briefing, he recognised them as his clients.

"Welcome, I take it you are my clients, Sethame and Liria, Correct?" He said diplomatically.

He observed the pair, committing them to memory. The taller of the two, Sethame was an Asari Matriarch and doctor known for her numerous contributions to the fields of medicine, especially genetics, and her Ice cold bedside manner. True to her reputation, she regarded him with what a lesser individual might register as cool indifference and professionalism, however he could see signs of exhaustion, clearly she has been suffering from many sleepless nights.

Her Partner, Liria, had no such composure. The woman fidgeted in her seat, clearly nervous. Liria despite being only a maiden has managed to gain not-insignificant influence within the Republic of Caava. Her upbeat nature and confidence are seen as a breath of fresh air to the old city and is well loved in both the senate and on the street. Although recently she has shifted away from the public eye, claiming an unspecified illness.

To the drells expert eye, she may not be conventionally ill but she seemed to be stressed beyond what was healthy.

"And you are Thane Krios," Sethame said "I know you by reputation, I understand you are quite skilled."

"So I am told," Thane said. "Now, I have been told you have an unusual job for me, and wish to brief me personally, I must admit I am quite curious."

"That is correct. But before we continue, I trust you will be discreet, this is a delicate matter, and could have serious repercussions should it come out," Sethame said.

"Discretion is an important part of my profession," Thane said.

"Very well, First I wish to clarify, despite potentially utilizing your skills of your profession, this is not an assassination. Should all go well, hopefully no one will have to die. We wish to hire you to find a missing person."

"... While I am not against taking such an assignment, I find this rather unusual. There are others who are capable of performing such a task. Usually such a matter would be taken up by the authorities."

"Unfortunately, contacting the authorities is the last thing we need," Sethame said. "And anyone else we have contacted has turned up nothing. As for why you… an associate of mine recommended you, saying your skills were unmatched, and you might be sympathetic to our problem."

Thane Raised an eyebrow. "Sympathetic?"

"It's our daughter," Liria, who hadn't said anything yet, suddenly spoke up. "She's been missing for over a year. We have looked everywhere, we hired all kinds of people, but no one's been… no one…" Her voice broke a little, and Sethame pulled her into a one handed embrace, her face softening.

"As you can see, we are running out of options," Sethame said. "If I may speak frankly, we are nearing the end of our rope."

"I see…" Krios said. "It may surprise you to find out that I myself am a father, and even I cannot fully imagine the grief you may be going through. I will take the assignment."

"Thank you." Sethame said, who hadn't taken her eyes off her partner, who was still sniffling into her shoulder.

"I believe you have already discussed payment with my handler, but I will need whatever information you feel prudent to the… your daughter," Krios said, deciding at the last minute that 'the target' might be in poor taste.

"She was always an adventurous girl," Liria said between sniffles, "So proud and independent, yet humble and hardworking."

"She disappeared from our home after one evening, along with a bag and some personal effects, so we do not think she was kidnapped," Sethame said. She reached into a pocket and pulled out a small picture. "This was taken about a month before she vanished. So it should still be accurate."

Thane accepted the photo and studied the features of the Asari child, and there was a flash of recognition.

' _New face, worn clothes, hopeless expression, determined eyes, showed me the route the target took every day, asked about my profession, was paid in credits.'_ the memories flashed before his eyes in an instant.

"Are you alright?" Sethame said, having watched the expressions flash across Thanes face.

"Your daughter, what is her name?" Thane said, turning the picture this way and that.

"... Isika." Sethame said, regarding Thane curiously.

Thane looked up. "I believe I have a lead. Several months ago, I met your daughter on the citadel."

* * *

 **Chapter Notes:  
Good thing I noticed, we nearly missed the start of a subplot :P**


	8. Chapter 8 - Strange student scuffle

**Important notice, Sorry, I was so tired that I actually posted chapter eight instead of chapter 6, please forgive me.**

 **As an apology, have Chapters, six seven and eight all at once!**

* * *

Isika focused on the palm of her hand, summoning her single bullet. In the week after the first lesson, she had managed to get a rough oval shape, a little lumpy, but otherwise serviceable, to the Point where Marisa had gotten her started on colour.

"Hey I think I saw a little blue that time," Desida said, from her usual spot on the floor.

"Really?" Isika said.

"Not really," Desida admitted. "But I read somewhere that it helps people stay motivated if they feel they are accomplishing something."

"Gee, thanks," Isika said dryly.

It was yet another lunch break, and as was becoming habit, she was spending it in the rec room with Desida. For whatever reason, Desida was an incredibly easy person to get along with, and occasionally could give helpful advice.

Occasionally.

"Instead of focusing on the bullet, try focusing more on the colour you want it to be," Desida offered. "Normal Asari are blue right? Try focusing on Asari Skin."

Even if it could be creepy.

"Could you not phrase it like that?" Isika said, as she nearly lost the bullet in her hands due to a full body shiver.

Nevertheless she did as instructed, trying to focus on the colour of Asari skin.

While she was distracted however, Isika's Bullet nearly lost cohesion.

"Yeah, don't lose focus entirely. You still need the bullet in one piece," Desida said.

"Do you enjoy seeing me struggle?" Isika said irritably.

Desida shrugged. "Demons gotta get her kicks somewhere."

Isika sighed, and the pair lapsed into a comfortable silence.

For about a minute, when Desida looked up at the door, she got up, and floated behind one of the other couches.

"...I'm not here." Was the only explanation she offered.

Before Isika could question her odd behaviour, the door behind her slammed… which is odd considering its an automatic door. Nevertheless it was so sudden that her bullet popped.

"Pardon the intrusion." Came a gruff, unfamiliar voice.

Isika turned to look at the rooms latest occupant. She was a short blue haired Alliance girl. Despite her short stature, she seemed to have a well toned body, and a pair of substantial breasts. She wore some sort of short blue coat with matching blue shorts covered in various pockets, and a white sleeveless shirt, plus heavy looking work boots, thick gloves and a large, bulky backpack. Her Hair was shoulder length, cut with almost mathematical precision, with a fringe that nearly met her gunmetal grey eyes. To top it off she wore a bright green cap.

Isika had a vague recollection of seeing her before, but she couldn't place when.

"Oh, someone else was in here?" the bluette said, looking surprised. "Sorry, I wasn't expecting her to have company."

"Ok?" Isika said.

"Now, where is Desida." The Girl said, casting a suspicious eye around the room.

"Eh?" Isika said, suddenly worried.

She didn't need to say anything, as she immediately traced Isika's flickering eyes. She marched over to the other couch, and leaned over it before pulling out a rather disgruntled looking Desida by her tail.

"Really Desida? Hiding?" The bluette said disapprovingly.

"Can you blame me?" Desida pouted.

"Yes," the girl said, before dragging Desida away, the Demonette half heartedly and ineffectually trying to grip the carpet.

Isika got up and scrambled after them.

"Err, w-what are you doing?" Isika fretted.

"I'm being taken prisoner, help." Desida said, with her characteristic unenthusiasm.

"Sorry about this, I know how weird this must look." The Girl said. "But Desida here is _supposed_ to be helping me with training."

"She is?" Isika said, casting a sceptical eye on the demon.

"Well, not me specifically," The girl admitted. "But She has this… thing going with the headmaster. She has a reduced workload, in exchange for helping other students when asked, she's been here for years as far as I know."

"Most people don't bother though." Desida added, seemingly resigned to her current predicament. "Ya know, on account of how lazy I am."

"Those who know better however." The girl said. "Know that she makes an excellent sparring partner, if you can find her that is. Seriously if she put the same amount of energy into training as she does into avoiding work, she'd be an operative by now."

"A sparring partner?" Isika couldn't hide her sceptical glance at Desida, who had put her pillow under her head, so she could at least be dragged in comfort.

"Don't let her fool you, she is crazy strong." The girl said. "But at the same time, she never puts any more effort than she thinks it will take for her to win. That's what makes her an excellent sparring partner, she's only ever slightly stronger than you."

"Huh." Isika said, looking down on the Demonette, who had actually managed to fall asleep while being dragged. "I never would have thought."

"Don't worry about it, you are probably too early for that kind of thing anyway." The girl said. She seemed to think for a moment. "You know, I've been seeing you around so often, that I forgot we haven't been introduced. I'm Ishi Hirata. I'm a student here in case you haven't guessed."

"I'm... Isika. Isika Valao." Isika supplied, after a moment. "I'm Marisa's new Apprentice."

"Yeah, I heard as much. I've been watching you practice when you go out in the practice hall… In a non creepy way that is. I've just been using the space a lot during the hiatus, mostly reading."

"Oh yeah, I think I remember seeing you." Isika said, wondering if that is where the feeling of vague recollection is coming from.

"So how'd you come to be Marisa's apprentice anyway? No offence, but I didn't think it was possible for Asari to learn magic, you know, on account of it being incredibly hazardous to their health."

"I had an operation," Isika said, and when Ishi raised her eyebrows, she clarified. "To get rid of my Biotics."

"Huh… Is that why you're kinda… pale?" Ishi asked.

Isika nodded. "A side effect."

"Well, I'm impressed at any rate." Ishi said, "not many people would be willing to give up what you did. Even if magic is objectively better."

"Heheh." Isika laughed nervously. "Thanks."

They walked along dragging the comatose Desida. While Isika still nursed the feeling that she has met Ishi somewhere before.

Deciding to open conversation again with the straightforward girl, Isika said. "What species are you- Eh, that is, if you don't mind me asking?"

Ishi gave her a sidelong glance, before shrugging. "Sorry, I guess I'm used to people being able to tell. For future reference, if you see someone dressed like this, nine times out of ten you are looking at a Kappa, blue hair is also pretty common, but it's not as reliable an indicator."

It clicked.

Isika gasped. "You were at Reitaisai!"

Ishi looked at her weird. "Well, yeah, but so were-" Ishi's eyes widen. "Wait were you that Asari bra-I mean, kid that Stopped me and Sammi to ask about magic?"

Isika nodded mutely.

They stared at each other for a while.

"...Contrived." Desida mumbled in her sleep.

"Huh, Small universe." said Ishi, recovering first. "Looks like something good came from my friends big mouth."

"I guess so." Isika said nodding. "I don't suppose she goes here too?"

"Yeah, but she's spending the Hiatus at home. When she comes back I'll introduce you if you like." Ishi said.

"Thanks." Isika said. "I should probably thank her for pointing me in the right direction."

"Yeah, Ignorance has its uses. I would have just told it straight to save you disappointment."

Isika blanched. "I'm glad you didn't."

"Yeah, Life's funny like that." Ishi said. "Want to come watch us spar? I mean you've come this far, so might as well."

"Can I?" Isika asked. If it was anything like the other fight she witnessed, it ought to be pretty cool.

"Don't see why not." Ishi said. "Who knows, you might learn a thing or two…"

* * *

"Do we have to do this?" Desida said, stifling a yawn. She was upright, which was rare, but still not standing, floating in the air. Isika was starting to wonder if her legs even worked.

"Considering all the trouble I had to go to find you, I'd say so." Ishi said, her giant energy hammer resting on her shoulder. "Besides I promised to let Isika watch a fight." She gestured to where Isika sat in the stands.

"You two had to get chummy didn't you?" grumbled Desida.

"Yeah yeah. Well you ready?" Ishi said, widening her stance, and gripping her hammer with both hands.

"Just go easy with the swings, I hear you're still on maintenances shit list." Desida said, who made no attempt to change her stance.

"It was one time…" Grumbled Ishi.

" _Training duel initialising. Duelists: Desida, Ishi Hirata. Rules: general combat, submission or incapacitation. Spell Card rules are active, are you ready?"_ came a synthetic voice, though from where Isika couldn't tell.

"Ready." Ishi said, and her gaze seemed to harden.

"Just start already." Desida said, scratching the back of her neck.

" _Acknowledged,"_ the computer said " _beginning duel in… 3… 2… 1…"_ A buzzer sounded.

There was a loud boom, and Ishi launched forward as if out of a cannon, hammer already swinging in a wide arc.

With the kind of grace that Isika had not associated with Desida, she swayed out of the way, the hammer passing over her head with centimeters to spare, before floating away from the return swing.

"Your speed's improved a bit, but your frontal assault opener is still too predictable." Desida said dryly. "Either change it up or get faster, otherwise you are not going to hit me." she lifted her hands open palms facing upwards. " **Dancing Flames**."

About thirty red-tinted black flames appeared floating around Desida, lazily orbiting her. With a flick of her wrist, about 7 broke off and flew in Ishi's direction.

"Talk about predictable." Ishi said, before extending her off hand, and a shimmering blue shield appeared in front of her, made up of six diamond shaped sections, resembling an angular flower.

The flames slammed into it one at a time. Ishi's smirk quickly became a frown. "Six…" she suddenly spun around, but too late as the seventh flame slipped under her guard, and punched her hard in the stomach, going off with a bang.

"Good job on picking that up, reflexes could do with a little work though." Desida intoned listlessly.

Ishi recovered quickly, looking more annoyed than winded. "Yeah yeah." with she brought her off hand again. " **Force cannon**."

Desida ducked to the side, as the air distorted in a conical shape, extending from Ishi's hand. Ishi was right behind, hammer swinging.

Ishi started pursuing Desida in the air, her hammer swings audible even to Isika in the stands. But Desida seemed to have no trouble keeping ahead of the attacks, dodging with almost lazy ease, blasting Ishi with her fire wisps whenever she sees an opening, and has scored hits with at least twelve out of seventeen, leaving her down to six wisps.

"You are being too aggressive." Desida warned. "You constantly leave yourself full of openings, your speed and power make up for it, but they're useless when you are fighting someone faster than you."

Ishi nodded, looking a little short of breath.

Desida seemed to notice. "Out of gas already? I thought I told you to work on your endurance?"

"Just a little winded is all." Ishi said, before moving her thumb, and pushing a button on the grip of her Hammer. The flap of her back pack shot open and Six strange spheres flew out, taking up positions around her. "I've been meaning to test these out anyway."

One of Desida's eyebrows actually rose. "Combat BITs huh? Never seen these ones before."

"Of course not, they are my own design." Ishi said. "What kind of Kappa wouldn't design their own kit?"

"True." Desida nodded. "Well, let's see them then."

"My pleasure." Ishi said, before charging forward yet again, BITs fanning out around her.

Desida neatly hopped out of the way of Ishi's downward swing, but was forced to course correct as one of the BITs fired what resembled Ishi's **force cannon** spells from earlier from a magic circle in front of her. She made more distance as two BITs started spraying a deluge of projectiles in her direction. Spotting Ishi attempting to approach from a blind spot, she launched her remaining wisps in her direction.

Ishi didn't change her course, but Another two BITs flew in front of her, creating more shimmering blue shields to intercept the flames. The ensuing smokescreen however made her attack go wide, flying past Desida. Twisting in the air, she smacked one of her shield bits with her hammer, sailing right into Desida's back with a loud crack, causing Desida to yelp in pain.

Using the other Shield BIT as a platform to kick off of, she quickly changed direction, bringing her Hammer down on Desida just as she was turning around.

Then Desida caught the Hammer with a single hand, her hand coated in a weird red-blue glow, without even so much as a sound.

"Wha-" Ishi said, severely caught off balance by the sudden loss of momentum.

"You're improving pretty quick," Desida said, gaining that smug little grin Isika has only seen once before. "That's the first time you got a hit on me. I might have to start taking you seriously." She brought up her other hand, glowing the same way as the other, and rested it on Ishi's forehead.

There was a booming noise, as Ishi suddenly launched backwards, as if shot out by a cannon, her head snapping back. She flew right toward Isika, before impacting against an invisible barrier, separating the stands.

Desida wasn't done though. Bringing her hands above her head, a ball of red-tinted black flame as big as her torso appearing above her. " **Sloth sign ~ Demons final rest** "

Ishi was still recovering when she heard those words, couldn't stop the massive ball from striking her in the chest, the force of the detonation making her go spread eagle against the boundary wall. It swelled to the size of a large bus, before vanishing after a minute of continuous detonation.

Ishi slid down the boundary wall, before hitting the ground with a thump.

"Ishi." Isika cried out in shock, running down the stands just as the computer announced: " _Combatant incapacitated, match called. Winner: Desida._ "

"Calm down, she's fine." Desida said, floating up to Isika as she turned over the surprisingly heavy Ishi. "Spell card rules are in effect, I couldn't kill her even if I wanted to."

As if to prove her point, Ishi groaned, before slowly opening her eyes. "God... what hit me?" She croaked.

"Well, first it was your own attack redirected back at you." Desida said conversationally, as Isika helped Ishi sit up. "The second one was my 'Demons final rest' spell card."

"Really, you used one of your last word cards in a spar?" Ishi said incredulously.

"Hey that BIT hurt." pouted Desida. "And it isn't as if you would feel anything else."

"So you were just being vindictive?" Ishi asked.

Desida shrugged. "I'm a demon, sue me."

"You know what, never mind." Ishi said. "But what about that first thing, redirecting my attack?" Ishi asked, now sounding more curious than annoyed.

"Well it's more like absorbing the kinetic energy of the strike, and releasing it out the other hand." Desida said. "It's a trick I came up with, but I don't use it too often, because its a pain to use, it gives me pins and needles."

"Could you teach me that?" Ishi asked immediately.

"Don't see why not," Desida said, shrugging. "With your ability it would probably be easier."

"Can I sit in?" Isika asked.

"No offence, but it's probably too advanced for you, you are still learning bullets, maybe later." Desida said. "Speaking of which, weren't you supposed to be back with Mima like..." Desida checks her wrist comp. "...half an hour ago?"

Isika's eyes widened. Before she bolted away. "Sorrygottagobye!"

Ishi watched her go. "Weird kid, but nice enough though."

"I've gotta feeling she's gonna go places." Desida said.

"Maybe." Ishi agreed. "Maybe."

Isika then proceeded to get chewed out by Mima for the next fifteen minutes.

* * *

 **Chapter notes:**

 **And here is the second OC, Ishi, hope you like her, as her and Desida will be the core of Isika's future friend group, there will be very few others until school the Academy opens again, then they will be coming in hard and fast.**

 **In case it isn't clear, from this point on, this story will be a rather slow story, as its a story about learning and growing as a person, meeting people and growing close to them, Helping people through issues, and in doing so, learning about herself.**

 **This story is a journey rather than a quest.**

 **(And I have now fixed my blunder, although there goes all my backlog, but probably worth it)**


	9. Chapter 9 - Preposterous Practice

"Hello Internet!" Kogasa exclaimed in a horse whisper. Her arms lowered away from the camera as she seems to have finished whatever last minute adjustments her droid needed. The view from the camera had Kogasa crouching against some sort of wooden wall.

"Glad you can join me, as you know this stream is a very special one." She said, almost bobbing with excitement. "For today you will bare Witness to…"

She threw her arms up ever so slightly, and whisper cheered. "Kogasa's super sweet Sanae revenge special!"

"... number forty seven." she admitted as an afterthought, looking less pleased, but rallied quickly.

"And here we are, at the Moriya shrine. Where I have on good information, that is to say that I looked on her social media," The last bit being mumbled, "that our target has returned for a home visit. And if you look just over there…"

She peered around the corner, and gestured for the camera droid to do the same. And the camera banked over, sitting not two hundred meters away with her back to them, was Sanae Kochiya, currently watching something on her wrist comp.

The camera panned back to Kogasa. "There she is, former idol and current operative, Sanae Kochiya, for those of you just joining me… Hello! Nice to meet you, always fun to have new viewers, but for those that don't know, back in her shrine maiden days… not that she isn't a shrine maiden now, but regardless, back then, she used to bully me! She used to say such mean things, and beat me up despite having nothing to do with the current incident, I was an innocent bystander! Oh yes she acts all innocent and nice, but it's just a front for her cruel inner self." Kogasa said, heatedly. "And to top it all off, despite all that, and despite not having been an idol in decades... she's still more popular than me!" she was seething now.

She calmed down quickly though. "Ehem, but anyway, for too many years has she gone unpunished, and here, at home without all her fancy gadgets, she will never be more vulnerable then she is now. Perfect for me to perform my vengeance… I am gonna scare the ever loving jeebies out of her!" she cried excitedly.

She stared into the camera, her serious expression coming off as more cute than intimidating. "Now I know the last forty six attempts haven't exactly gone to plan. But this time, I swear my plan is completely foolproof!"

She gestured to a large box full of seemingly random junk that was sitting next to her. "But as she is now a big shot operative type, it's gonna take a lot to spook her, which is why I have brought all this stuff with me.

She started pulling things out. "Now this is an inflatable Kanako, you may be wondering what that is for. Well, I'll get to that in a minute…"

…

"...and then we use this catapult, which we will have setup behind the shrines easten wall…"

…

"...and that's where the sheet comes in, and for this part, timing is absolutely critical…"

…

"...and then to crown it all off, I'll leap out from behind the car, and shout gotcha! And then my revenge will be complete!" Kogasa exclaimed excitedly. "Oops, might have got a bit loud there." She said, dropping back into a whisper. Hopefully she hasn't noticed."

She peered around the corner again, only to find the step Sanae occupied empty. "Eh? Where did she…"

"Oh, well if it isn't Kogasa, It sure has been a while. What brings you up here?" Came a friendly voice from off camera.

Kogasa froze and shivered as if she had ice dropped down her collar, before turning, the camera following her gaze.

Sanae was right beside her, crouching down, bringing the tall girl down to Kogasa's level, smiling disarmingly.

"Oh… H-hey Sanae." Kogasa quivered regardless.

"Well that's a fine hello," Sanae pouted, before grinning again. "I don't see you much these days, how's your website going?"

"Oh, it's fine." Kogasa squeaked, clutching her umbrella. "I'm getting by."

"That's good to hear, it's nice doing what you love for a living huh?" Sanae said, before a thought seemingly struck her. "Hey since you are here, how about you come in for a cup of tea, do a little catching up."

"Oh I couldn't possibly impose." Kogasa's voice somehow reached an even higher squeak. She had started edging away.

"Oh no I insist." Sanae was standing with a hand around Kogasas shoulder in less then a second, and started leading her into the shrine. "It's so hard to keep track of all the old crowd these days, especially one who isn't an operative, we really shouldn't waste this opportunity."

Kogasa turned her head to her camera even as she was being led away, and mouthed "Help me." Before the stream ended, and the words 'we are experiencing technical difficulties' appeared.

"You know, you'd think she'd know better by now." Ishi said, turning back to her book.

"Well, Sanae probably doesn't do much to discourage it, considering that Kogasa is still trying." Desida said, leaning out of the way of a bullet drifting past. "Besides, look at her analytics, these revenge streams are some of her most watched content, even if they tend to be short."

"That makes sense I suppose." Ishi said. "Still, I wonder how Sanae knew she was there…"

Desida leaned again as a much faster bullet whistled past her ear. She turned to Isika, who was sitting behind them, in the process of making another bullet. "Could you knock that off? Some of us are trying to loaf here."

Isika pouted, the half-made bullet still in her hands. "I'll never get the hurty bit right if nobody will let me hit them."

"Ask Ishi then, I'm busy doing nothing." Desida said.

Isika turned to Ishi and opened her mouth to speak.

"Don't even think about it." Ishi said, without looking up from her book..

Isika pouted harder. "Come on, can't one of you do it? I wanna get this right before the end of the break, to surprise Mima."

Desida groaned. "Don't you ever get tired of being so diligent? Seriously, its exhausting just being near you sometimes."

"Don't listen to her. Nothing wrong with working hard." Ishi said. "Besides, she's technically obligated to help you, as per the headmasters agreement."

Desida gave her an irritated deadpan. "You sure love milking that don't you?" she sighed. "Fine, hit me. I promise I won't dodge."

Isika perked up, and finished the bullet in her hands, before launching it at Desida.

Desida then caught it between thumb and forefinger.

"Wha?" Isika said.

Desida then flicked it at Ishi, who yelped.

"Ow-hey! What the hell!?" she exclaimed indignantly.

"I technically am still helping." Desida said. "I just elected someone else to be the target."

Ishi then socked her in the face.

With a loud boom, Desida flew across the room, tumbled across the carpet, and landed ass up against the opposite wall with a ringing clang. Her oversized hoodie sliding down over her head revealing she wore nothing but a plain pair of white underwear beneath.

"Yeah, I probably deserved that." was Desida's muffled response, as Isika rushed to help her up.

Ishi huffs irritably, and turns back to her book. "...You made it a bit too intense, you might have to fine tune that for it to be completely spell card legal." she added as an afterthought.

"Right… I'll work on that." Isika said sheepishly, as Desida floated back to the couch, wobbling slightly.

Isika wonders if such monstrous strength is a kappa thing.

* * *

 **Ajū:** No, not really. While Kappa enjoy some enhanced strength, it is more for lugging around large amounts of equipment, rather than displays of brute strength. Kappa usually shy away from direct conflict, preferring ambush, or hiding behind a wall of weapons and gadgets.

 **Isika:** Weird, I wonder how Ishi does it then.

 **Ajū:** Well, she is studying magic. Perhaps she is learning physical reinforcement magic.

 **Ajū:** That is just a guess though, perhaps you are better off asking her.

 **Isika:** I know, it's just that I feel so clueless about all this stuff, I never know if what I am asking is just some Alliance common sense.

 **Isika:** I honestly don't know what I would do without you as a friend.

 **Ajū:** Oh I'm sure you would find someone else to pester.

 **Isika:** So mean!

 **Ajū:** Haha

 **Ajū:** But in all seriousness, I am happy to answer any questions you might ask.

 **Isika:** thanks Ajū

 **Ajū:** But I do wonder if you would be interested in helping me test a new Wrist comp app, that might help with your little problem.

 **Isika:** What's it do?

 **Ajū:** Its a digital version of my youkai encyclopedia, The Chronicles of Gensokyo, my elder brother feels that for whatever reason the printed media has fallen out of fashion somewhat in recent years, and that a digital version would make it more accessible.

 **Ajū:** and while I'm not sure I like the way he said it, I do concede that with all the new youkai about, it will probably be easier for the modern citizen having an app or webpage rather than lugging around a bunch of heavy books or scrolls... I guess.

 **Isika:** You really aren't good with computers are you?

 **Ajū:** My brother says its because I'm an old lady at heart, so I can't deal with new technology.

 **Ajū:** He's rude like that.

 **Isika:** Haha

 **Ajū:** Shows what he knows though, I've never been older than 30, I've never been an old lady.

 **Isika:** that still sounds so sad. I mean, I can't imagine living for so little time.

 **Ajū:** Time is what you make of it, and it's not as if I'll be gone for good, about a hundred years later and I'll be back again.

 **Ajū:** Considering your species long lives, You'll probably be there to welcome me back.

 **Isika:** I guess so.

 **Ajū:** But I feel we got sidetracked, we were talking about the app right?

 **Isika:** oh, right.

 **Isika:** so you want me to help test it?

 **Ajū:** Well I've been talking to Yukari, and while I can't give away details, it seems there might be more aliens joining the Alliance sometime in the future. Those aliens will probably have the same issues you are having now.

 **Ajū:** So my chronicles might be very useful to them, even in app form. But I feel it might be good to get an aliens feedback on the system so as to make sure its intuitive to non-alliance.

 **Ajū:** As a plus you get on demand youkai information. Non-sensored too, myself and Yukari are still debating how much information should be made available on the app, so for now, I've just filled the app with my drafts for testing purposes.

 **Isika:** Wow, that would be pretty awesome actually.

 **Isika:** Wait, you know Yukari? As in the Yukari? As in the Youkai head of the Alliance?

 **Ajū:** For centuries, one of my oldest living friends.

 **Isika:** Wow

 **Isika:** so why are you arguing?

 **Ajū:** A slight disconnect between the Chronicles original purpose, and modern society. The Chronicles of Gensokyo were originally intended to be a way of educating humans about youkai, in order to teach them the proper fear and respect, as well as ways of dealing with them should you get stuck in an altercation. To that end, I tend to talk up the dangers of certain youkai, and talk about avoidance tactics, while others I lay out their weaknesses, if any are readily available.

 **Ajū:** Yukari feels that this view and presentation is out of date with the current joint human/youkai society, and that considering that youkai make up a majority of our special forces, it wouldn't be prudent to publish their weakness in this day and age, at least not in such a readily available format. To an extent I agree with her, but I'm not sure I feel comfortable leaving the information out.

 **Ajū:** Maybe I'm just old fashioned, but I still feel that the modern human needs to be informed of the dangers of youkai and to know how to deal with a youkai attack.

 **Ajū:** regardless, it's an ongoing debate, not that you need to worry about that.

 **Isika:** I see… Honestly I didn't realise you were that important.

 **Ajū:** Oh hush you. Do you want the App or not?

 **Isika:** Yes please.

 **Ajū:** That's what I want to hear.

* * *

"I think you're getting the hang of this."

"Thank… You." Isika said through gritted teeth, as she tried not to lose balance.

It was morning training with Marisa, and as usual, it was proving unorthodox.

Isika stood in the center of the room, on top of her desk. She was blindfolded, standing on one foot, with a pile of books on her head, and a tea-set in her right hand, all while she tried to fire bullets across the room with her left.

In Theory, Isika understood what she was doing: Creating a self maintaining bullet. By splitting her focus to this degree made it easier to sort failure from success, and thus sped up the process. Not only that, but it improved her split focus, multitasking, and her casting under pressure, not to mention her balance.

So yes, in Theory Isika understood what she was doing. But this didn't make this entire exercise feel any less bizarre.

"That was a good one, what do you think Meems?" Came Marisa's voice.

"Well, she is your student, but I think that's as good as we are going to get with this particular exercise." came Mima's response.

"I'd be inclined to agree. Alright Ise, that's enough." Marisa said clapping her hands.

Dropping her foot down. Isika sagged with relief, books tumbling off her head, before having to pitch forward to save the tea set.

Feeling the tea set float out of her hands, she lifted her blindfold off her eyes, and sat down on the edge of the desk. "So what's next Marisa Sensei?"

"Well I think you have sufficiently mastered single bullets, so now I think you are ready for something a little harder." Marisa said, cocking her hip.

"Ohh what!?" Isika asked excitedly.

"Multiple bullets!" Marisa exclaimed cheerfully.

"Oh."

If she was being perfectly honest, Isika was getting tired of all the bullet exercises. It just felt like a lot of time and effort for what was a small stinging projectile, and after the initial excitement of casting magic had worn off, it had started to prove tedious.

Nevertheless, Isika felt she was mature enough to understand the importance of foundational skills, so she just placated herself with remembering Marisas bullet fountain, reminding herself that eventually she could do something like that if she keeps up this training.

Marisa just smirked at Isika, and the Asari realised that her entire inner monolog had played out on her face.

"Yeah, I know how it is, I was there once too, hell probably most 'non-gifted' kids were where you are. Nothing you can do about it but keep a stiff upper lip and keep on moving." Marisa said.

"Yes Marisa Sensei." Isika said, blushing with embarrassment.

"Alrighty!" Marisa said clapping her hands. "Now this will be very similar to what you have done before, but instead of one construct, you are making two. Now this might seem like a small difference, but you might find it a little tricky."

"And that's a good thing." Continued Marisa. "For most of these exercises, you have been just pushing out your magic, and willing it into form and function. Which is perfectly fine, But this time, you have to to be a lil' more precise."

She lifted her hands to either side, and a single glowing ball appeared in each. "These are each their own construct, completely independent from the other, yet created at the same time. This is what you need to do, two completely identical yet independant bullets."

"That sounds... challenging." Isika said, choosing the word over her first thought of 'difficult'. She doesn't think a single one of her bullets have been the same so far, now she has to make two at once.

"Yeah, it should be, because in order to succeed, you actually have to standardise your casting. Or in layman's terms, make an actual spell."

Isika gasped, suddenly hooked.

"Yup, that's right, after this exercise, we are upgrading to actual spellwork." Marisa said. "Provided that is, you can master this first one. Spells usually have multiple components layered on top of one another, so this kind of parallel casting is an excellent introduction into that."

"Okay!" Isika exclaimed, suddenly hyped up. "Where do I start?"

Marisa just grinned down at her.

"You're… not going to tell me are you?" Isika said, her enthusiasm deflating a little bit.

"Lets see how well you do on your own first." Marisa said, patting her on the head. "There's some books in the corner, and Mima if you get stuck, now if you excuse me, I gotta go, I was supposed to be on the Philosophe about five minutes ago."

"Can I have a hint please?" Isika pleaded, as Marisa walked to the door.

"You already know where to start, just build from there, and I'll see how well you did when I get back this evening." Marisa said over her shoulder as she exited the room. "Good luck, my adorable student~"

Isika pouted at the now closed door. This wasn't the first time Marisa had done this, just give her a task and then fail to tell her how to accomplish it. Isika wondered if it was some sort of test, or Merely Marisas sense of humour.

Isika turned to her hands, and turned her pout into a determined frown. Test or no, she wasn't going to let Marisa down. Marisa said she already knew where to start, so she started with making a bullet, and tried to work out where to go from there.

From her vantage point, Mima watched, amused at the antics of her former student and her students student.

"You know, for all the complaining she did when I did it, you'd think she'd be less keen on inflicting it on others." Mima mused quietly to herself.

* * *

Bonus:

"Now this is an inflatable Kanako, you may be wondering what that is for. Well, I'll get to that in a minute…"

' _You know, Kogasa. Your revenge would be a lot easier if you stopped streaming these things.'_ Sanae thought ruefully, withholding amusement.

* * *

 **Chapter notes:**

 **Hey guys, new chapter out. A rather disjointed chapter but a chapter nonetheless.**

 **This probably would have been done sooner, but as it happens, I'm Australian, and my house has burned down… so yeah, thats fun.**

 **My families ok, and I still have my Computer, Switch, 3DS, and my cat. But pretty much everything else is gone.**

 **I hope you guys are having a better new year then I am.**


	10. Chapter 10 - Tunnels and Tempers

The Citadel ducts were not designed for an adult Drell to walk upright in, rather they were made for ventilation and for Keepers to navigate the station unseen. Thankfully in the larger tunnels such as this one, Thane only had to stoop to walk relatively comfortably. Makes sense, considering who he was looking for.

He was currently not looking for Isika, rather looking for someone who would hopefully know where she was. Isika's last den was sadly abandoned with no trace of her, or her fellow encombrants, and it had taken quite some time to track down where they had moved. But in the process of asking around the various dens of duct rats, he had picked up some rather disturbing information.

No-one had seen Isika in months.

This was worrying, even if you consider the sheer size of the citadel wards, it's unusual for someone to completely drop off the radar like that. That is, unless the unthinkable had happened. It was unfortunately common for duct rats to become the victim of the Citadels cryptic inner workings, everything from sudden drops, to ventilation fans could claim the unwary child, and no one would ever be the wiser, as the keepers would usually clean them up before they even started to smell.

Despite this very real possibility, Thane was not going to write off his target so easily. Both from his own impressions of the child and her parents testimonies, he was quite certain that Isika was a fairly bright child, not one to fall for the Citadels' various traps for the unwary. Not to mention, last he saw her, she was in very good company.

And it was that good company he was currently seeking, and as he walked into her new den, he spotted her immediately.

It was another duct terminus, often chosen for its roominess and its quick access to the Citadel proper. Various Children of varying species, all standing and sitting around, turning to look in his direction. The one who actually caught his eye was no child at all.

A young Asari woman, barely a maiden, lifted herself up from where she was sitting, and walked purposefully over to where Thane was standing. This was Lintora, one of this wards only 'denmothers'. None of the other rats know how long she has been down here, or even why she is down here, but she functions as a sort of grumpy big sister to most of the younger ones in her little group. Even moonlighting as a dancer in a rather shady establishment called Cloras Den to make sure her rats stay fed and clothed.

But besides that, she has been Thanes go to informant for years, between her army of rats and a variety of friends in low places, even if she doesn't know something, she knows someone who does. And even more relevant then that, She had been Isikas denmother last she had seen her.

Thane stirred himself from his recollections as Lintora stopped in front of him and crossed her arms.

"Hey Krios, so who's the poor bastard who needs to die today?" Lintora said dryly.

"Good evening Lintora. and no one, if things go well. This is a missing person job." Thane said. Not bothering to mince words with the terse Asari.

"Branching out huh?" Lintora asked. "Whatever, no difference to me, who is it?"

"I was actually hoping to find her in your company." Thane said, once more scanning the room, in case he somehow missed her on the first passing, none of the few Asari were his mark though. "Last time I was here there was a young Asari named Isika. Is she still with you?"

Thane noted how Lintora tensed. "Who wants to know?"

"Her parents, she went missing half a year ago. And they got desperate enough to hire an assassin." Thane knew this was going to be a hard sell.

"Funny, you'd think you would hear about something like that on the news." Lintora said with suspicion.

"Apparently the situation is complicated, and that involving the Authorities will make it worse."

Lintora scoffed. "Yeah, I bet."

"I understand your reservations. But as both a professional and as a parent, I feel my judgement is sound. Having met them in person, they have nothing but concern for their missing daughter, and feel nothing but grief at her absence."

"Yeah, and how is Kolyat these days?" Lintora said, but she was clearly deflecting the question.

"Lintora."

Lintora started drumming her fingers on her arm. Thane doesn't remember her doing this before, must be a new habit. For a minute indecision was scrawled on her face, before she sighed, slumping slightly. "Look, I wouldn't normally do this, I don't rat out my rats. But to be honest, I'm feeling pretty concerned too. I haven't seen her in six months."

"She disappeared again?" Thane said.

"I wish." Lintora said. "I know exactly where she went, she just hasn't come back is the trouble."

Thane waited for Lintora to elaborate.

Lintora just rolled her eyes. "Come on, use that impressive drell memory. What happened six months ago?"

"That's not how that works." Thane said, but still he cast his mind back. He was not on the citadel at that time, so whatever Lintora is talking about must be public knowledge-

"Reitaisai." Thane said. "The Alliance new years celebration."

"Isika got tickets for the full festival, saved up ever since it was announced, she even borrowed fifty credits off me when she was short on spending money. But she never came back on the transports afterwards. Trust me, I know." Lintora confirmed. "So either someone kidnapped her at the festival, and managed to bring her back under the nose of both the Alliance, and citadel customs, which seems unlikely, or…"

"She never left Shanxi in the first place." Thane completed the thought.

"Yeah, which means she is knee deep in alliance space, and I have no idea why." Lintora said scowling. "So yeah, I'm pretty nervous, especially considering how much they like Asari over there, which is to say, not at all."

"This… complicates things." Thane said, his mind running through everything he knew about the Alliance.

"I'd imagine, I heard they sent the council a Spectres head in a box for attempting to infiltrate their worlds." Lintora said.

Thane nodded grimly, he's killed spectres before, and he knows it's not easy.

"So what are you gonna do now Krios?" Lintora asked.

"I'll have to give it some thought." Thane said, before handing over a datapad, "Thank you for your help, WIll the normal fee be enough?"

"I should charge extra for this, I still feel dirty." Lintora grumbled, as she transferred the loose credits to her Omnitool. "But I'll settle for just seeing Isika safe, or at the very least sticking it to whatever bastard got her."

"I'll keep that in mind." Thane said, before turning to leave.

"And remind her she owes me fifty credits." Lintora called after him, more out of self assurance than anything.

' _The Alliance'_ Thane thought, as he stooped through the ducts once again.

He had heard all the stories, probably more than Lintora had, he knew that sneaking into Alliance space was tantamount to suicide.

He opened his Omnitool, and did the only thing he could do.

He booked an appointment with Ambassador Scarlet.

* * *

Isika stared at the two bullets in her hands, her eye twitching.

They were lumpy, misshapen things, whenever she tried to fix one, the other lost cohesion, if she tried to adjust both at once, it just ended up with two unsatisfactory projectiles, and she didn't even need to fire them to figure out they were weaker then her single bullets.

With an angry growl, she threw her hands into the air, and the projectiles into the roof, and yelled. "How the Hell are you supposed to make a spell!?"

"Hey Ishi, I think she's going native, she just used an alliance swear." Desida said, in her usual spot on the floor.

Ishi ignored the comment, and instead focused on Isika, pausing in her reading to raise her eyebrow. "Is that what you were trying to do?"

"What did it look like I was trying to do?" Isika snapped irritably.

Ishi shrugged. "In all honesty? More bullet exercises."

Isika grumbled, but didn't refute it.

"It's not that unusual," Desida said, "the duel bullet exercise is one of the most basic introductions to spellwork that can be taught."

"Huh, I never did that, I just went right into spellwork." Ishi said, furrowing her brow.

"Well, of course you didn't. Most youkai have an instinctual understanding for basic spellwork, you probably went right into spellcards." Desida said. "Isika on the other hand, has the complete opposite of that."

"Well, sorry for being an Alien." Grumbled Isika.

"So what's giving you so much trouble. I mean I get it's hard for you, but I've never felt you this frustrated before."

"Marisa told me to learn this, but she failed to tell me how." Isika grumbled.

"She what?" Ishi said, her eyebrow once more raised.

"She does this every now and then." Isika said. "She sets a task, and then doesn't tell me how to complete it. Its never been this hard before though."

"That's kinda weird, I mean it's not all that complicated, I could probably tell you." Ishi said, suddenly getting Isika's undivided attention.

"Tell me!" Isika said, suddenly getting in Ishi's face.

"Err, well…" Ishi said, taken back by the enthusiasm.

But Isika was pushed back by Desida's tail and gently separated them. "Calm down girl, and Ishi, you probably shouldn't be teaching her that if Marisa hasn't told her."

"Why not?" Isika grumbled.

"Because Marisa wouldn't do this if she didn't have a reason. She's never had an apprentice before, for all we know this is just her one-on-one teaching style. We really shouldn't interfere."

"You sure it isn't just because you can't be bothered helping?" Ishi said dryly.

Desida shrugged. "You offered, not me. Besides, it's kinda fun watching her struggle."

Isika shot her a dirty look. "Demon."

"Correct."

Isika took a deep breath. Desida was probably right, Marisa was probably going somewhere with this… at least she hoped she was.

Isika's wrist comp beeped once in notification.

"I gotta go, I'm gonna see if Mima is willing to give me any more hints." Isika said, standing up.

She technically didn't have to spend her time in Marisa's study anymore, both Mima and Marisa trust her to work on her own without supervision by now. But while she is being as helpful as Marisa right now, at least she can tell her when she was off track entirely.

"Have fun." Desida said, and Ishi gave her a casual wave, as she turned back to her book.

After Isika left, Ishi casually looked to Desida. "Was that really your reason, just don't tread on Marisa's toes?"

"I owe Marisa a lot, and for my sins I know her better than most around here, at least enough to hazard a guess as to what she's up to." Desida said.

"...and that is?" Ishi said, curious despite herself.

"Sometimes the journey is more important than the destination." was Desida's explanation. "It's just something someone has to learn, if they want to stand next to Marisa."

Ishi gained a thoughtful expression as she stared at nothing in particular. "...Huh, I never would have thought of it like that."

"It is fun watching her struggle though."

Ishi snorted. "You really are a demon."

"Was that ever in doubt?" Desida said, smirking.

* * *

 **Chapter notes:**

 **And thus Thanes quest continues and Isika gets frustrated.**

 **Can anyone figure out what Marisa is trying to teach her?**


End file.
